NHS condemned for appointing 'single-faith' provider

NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale have been slammed for appointing a single-faith provider to procure a GP-led health centre in Middleton.

Speaking at the LMC's conference, Manchester GP Dr Mohammed Jiva condemned the Primary Care Trust for the selection of Hope Citadel Healthcare to provide the centre. He claimed the choice 'contravenes a fundamental principle of the NHS'.

Hope Citadel is a social enterprise company, one of whose partners is the Salvation Army and Dr Jiva believes that it is a specifically Christian organisation which works with Churches and other Christian organisations to link spiritual care with healthcare.

Employees of the company must subscribe to its values and vision.

Dr Jiva said that in appointing Hope Citadel, NHS HMR had chosen a provider that 'recognises one belief over all others', going against 'the core principle' of the NHS.

A spokesperson for NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale said: "Hope Citadel is a GP-led consortium which was awarded the Health Centre contract at Middleton following a rigorous procurement exercise that was delivered under a national process. The GPs who lead the consortium have provided services in the Middleton area for many years and their bid specifically addressed the varied health issues in that area.

"The services it will provide will be accessible to all and absolutely not based on faith. Any suggestion that this is the case is inflammatory and without grounds."