Tories plan to sell off NHS blood supplier

[muriel_volestrangler]

The government is already looking into privatising the NHS unit that supplies blood plasma products to the NHS.

Sky News yesterday reported that it has already appointed an investment bank – Lazard – to explore privatising Plasma Resources UK (PRUK).

Health Minister Simon Burns told the House of Commons on Friday that a sale was necessary to ensure PRUK, “can successfully compete in the global market.”
...
PRUK is the NHS’s principal blood plasma supplier, essential to patients who require blood transfusions.

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2012/07/15/tories-plan-to-sell-off-nhs-blood-supplier/

I have learned that the Department of Health has appointed Lazard, the investment bank, to explore a privatisation of Plasma Resources UK (PRUK) in a move that could raise tens of millions of pounds for the taxpayer.
...
The sale of such a sensitive asset would, however, arouse suspicion from patient care groups and others alarmed at the prospect of the NHS's principal blood plasma supplier, which is essential to thousands of patients who require blood transfusions, being transferred to private ownership.

The Department of Health's decision to engage Lazard comes as the Coalition abandons the sale of other Government-owned interests such as its controlling share in National Air Traffic Services, the company which operates Britain's airspace.

The Coalition's Spending Review shortly after the last general election urged Whitehall departments to offload non-core assets that could deliver value to the taxpayer by being sold to the private sector.

http://news.sky.com/story/960130/exclusive-lazard-to-lead-nhs-sale

The blood supply isn't 'core', it seems ...

[non sociopath skin]

1. Blood? Nah. Not important. Let the spivs have it.

They're wasting no time, are they?

The Skin

[tjwmason]

2. Can successfully compete in the global market?

I realise that I'm not an expert in blood transfusion...but is there a global market? Should we be asking the newspapers to print the latest market price for blood alongside those of oil and gold? Perhaps we should be building a blood pipe-line to connect us to France and sell our blood to them, might make for a nice little earner on the balance of payments.

[LeftishBrit]

3. I thought this was another from Newsthump; sadly it isn't.

Why not just sell all the blood products off to Andrew Lansley's cousin Dracula?