NHS Privatisation: A Disasterpiece in Slow Motion

For years, the NHS has teetered on a financial fault line, with successive governments dabbling in reforms like DIY enthusiasts who really should have called in the professionals. Now, with murmurs (and some not-so-subtle announcements) about increased private sector involvement, there's a real risk of NHS privatisation creeping in like a dodgy landlord turning public healthcare into a "pay-to-play" scheme.

And who stands to lose the most? Chronically ill and disabled individuals—the very people who rely on the NHS the most—could find themselves scrambling as services start slipping away.

"We're Just Looking at Private Investment" (Famous Last Words)

The latest discussions around privatisation aren't the blatant "sell the NHS to the highest bidder" scenarios that would send people marching through Westminster with pitchforks. Instead, we're hearing phrases like "exploring private investment" and "partnerships with the private sector," which sound as harmless as your mate suggesting you "borrow" money from a payday lender.

But make no mistake: once private money starts flowing into the NHS, it's rarely a one-time loan. It's a foothold—and it always comes with conditions. When profit enters healthcare, decisions pivot from patient need to financial gain.

Sources:

• NHS England and private partnerships: The King's Fund – Is the NHS being privatised?

• Public concern over creeping privatisation: BMJ – NHS privatisation: a threat to equity

  
  

The Paywalling of Specialist Care

If you have a chronic illness or disability, accessing specialist care on the NHS is already challenging. Now imagine a system where:

• The best specialists migrate to private hospitals because they can charge more.

• NHS-run specialist clinics are cut due to lack of funding, forcing patients to "choose" private care (aka “pay or suffer”).

• You need private insurance just to see a consultant without waiting 18 months.

For those with rare diseases, genetic conditions, or complex medical needs, this is a slow-motion catastrophe. Many specialist clinics are already underfunded, surviving only due to government grants and the sheer determination of medical professionals.

Under privatisation? If your condition isn’t "profitable," good luck finding a doctor.

Sources:

• Rare Disease UK – The Hidden Cost of Rare Conditions

• The Guardian – NHS England to cut back specialist clinics

  
  

The Price of Staying Alive (Because Apparently That’s Extra)

Let’s talk about medication. Currently, the NHS can negotiate prices, ensuring that treatments for conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), cystic fibrosis, or rare autoimmune diseases—which can cost tens of thousands per year—are covered.

If private companies take charge:

• Expensive treatments may not be covered unless you pay upfront.

• Private insurance could refuse to cover certain medications if they don't deem them “cost-effective.”

• Some medications might disappear entirely from NHS formularies, forcing patients to fundraise just to survive.

It’s already happening in other countries. Take the US, where people with Type 1 diabetes are rationing insulin because private insurers inflate the cost of life-saving drugs to obscene levels.

Now imagine a UK where your monthly prescription costs as much as your rent.

Sources:

• BMJ – Rising drug prices in the US

• NHS England drug pricing policy

• JDRF UK – The cost of insulin and Type 1 Diabetes

  
  

"Got a Pre-Existing Condition? That’ll Be £££ Extra"

Private insurance loves healthy, risk-free customers. But if you’re reading this and you have a chronic illness or disability, congratulations: you’re a financial liability in their eyes.

• In many private systems, insurers either refuse coverage for pre-existing conditions or charge significantly more.

• You may need to pay out of pocket for therapies, surgeries, and ongoing treatment.

• There could be lifetime limits on how much coverage you’re entitled to.

In the US, insurance companies actively find ways to deny coverage for people with rare diseases, chronic illnesses, or disabilities. A UK system that leans into privatisation could start looking eerily similar.

Sources:

• Commonwealth Fund – US insurance and pre-existing conditions

• NHS Confederation – What would more private provision mean?

  
  

"Why Don’t You Just Go Private?" – The Gaslighting Begins

One of the most insidious effects of creeping privatisation is the way it deteriorates public services while portraying the private sector as the “better alternative.”

• If you see waiting lists getting longer, it’s not merely a funding issue—it’s deliberate. The worse public healthcare gets, the more people feel forced to pay for private care.

• NHS hospitals already pay private providers to perform routine surgeries, diverting NHS funds into profit-driven companies.

• If this continues, entire NHS departments could be outsourced, leaving the public system as a skeleton service for the poorest.

This is by design. Once you're desperate enough, once you can't wait any longer, once your pain becomes unbearable, you'll pay whatever they ask. And when enough people do that, the government can say, “See? Private healthcare is what people want!”

Sources:

• Health Foundation – NHS waiting lists and outsourcing

• NHS pays private sector for operations

  
  

Say Goodbye to Social Care (Unless You Have Savings to Burn)

Let’s not forget that healthcare and social care go hand in hand—and privatisation is already creeping into the social care system.

• If the NHS stops funding carers, mobility aids, physiotherapy, or home adaptations, disabled people will be forced to pay privately or go without.

• If you’re not wealthy, that means losing independence, being pushed into care homes, or relying on crowdfunding just to get basic support.

• Personal health budgets, which some people with disabilities rely on, could disappear entirely.

For many, this isn’t a distant future—it’s already happening. People are waiting months for vital equipment. Carers are quitting because they’re underpaid and overworked. The more stretched the system gets, the easier it is for the government to say, “Maybe the private sector can help.”

Sources:

• Disability Rights UK – Social care funding crisis

• Age UK – Care crisis deepens

• NHS England – Personal Health Budgets

  
  

So What Do We Do About It?

If there’s one thing politicians fear, it’s public outrage. The reason full-scale privatisation hasn’t happened yet? Because when people do find out what's going on, they push back—loudly.

Here’s what you can do:

• Support campaigns like Keep Our NHS Public and We Own It.

• Share your stories—privatisation thrives in silence.

• Contact your MP. They work for you, and your voice does matter.

• Help friends and family understand that privatisation isn’t about “choice”—it’s about exclusion, profit, and systemic inequality.

  
  

Final Thoughts

The NHS was founded on the idea that healthcare should be free at the point of use, based on need—not income. If we let privatisation quietly dismantle that principle, it won’t just be the NHS that disappears—it’ll be the idea that everyone deserves care, no matter who they are or what they can afford.

Let’s not wait until it’s too late.