[kincardine]

> The contractors knew it and would milk it as long as they could

That would be one of those inefficiencies introduced by part-privatization... So it's hard to believe it's approaching zero. Not to mention that you have no real basis for making that statement from personal experience alone...

[zigzigzag]

No it isn't. Contractors milking their customers isn't an inefficient introduced by privatisation: as brightshiny pointed out, the entirely state employed people were even worse.

Contractors milking their clients is something that competent buyers are supposed to prevent, but NHS procurement is a disaster-zone, as is commonly the case in the public sector. Just look up the different prices paid for basics like rubber gloves.

[kincardine]

Contractors milking their customers is an inefficiency introduced by privatization, because without privatization it doesn't happen... How state employees behave or the competency of the buyer is irrelevant.

Saying that the inefficiencies due to privatization are "approaching zero" is a bit disingenuous.

[zigzigzag]

Just replacing contractors with employees just means it's the employees milking the NHS instead, but now with the downside that they're unionised and hard to switch to an alternate provider.