Co ownership; driving success in the public sector

On Monday, Gordon Brown kept mutuals and employee ownership as a key election issue with a commitment to put co-operatives at the heart of the Labour manifesto. All the main UK parties are supporting co ownership as a potential model for both private and public sector business.  There is still some scepticism as to whether public sector employees owning their organisation will improve services.  However, few would argue that the current model is "optimal".

This morning's Today programme threw up an interesting notion.  The discussion was around the amount of benefits not being claimed and the presenter asked why this should be the case.  The response was that "There are no longer any targets in improving take-up."  So, there are vulnerable people living in poverty because the bureaucrats or politicians do not impose "targets" on achievement?  I was puzzled further at a later item on the show which was talking about crime statistics.  The increase in violent crimes was ascribed to a change in how crimes were recorded in 2002. Ah - so it all comes down to numbers and targets?  You can see why practitioners in the Health Service/Police Forces/(insert whichever applies)  become so frustrated.  They pursue a vocation because they genuinely want to make a difference but see their aspirations thwarted down the route of political expediency. As individuals become demotivated and stressed, the services decline and the service users are dissatisfied.   Alternative models can - and do - work.

Circle Health was started because the clinicians believed that those closest to the patient were the best people to decide on care - not number-crunchers. The belief is that patients are individuals, not statistics.  Circle Health is 50% owned by the consultants, GPs, nurses and non-medical staff who work in it.  They have proven that it works.  Since taking over an independent treatment centre in Nottingham, Circle have improved productivity by 20% and have recently opened a state of the art hospital in Bath.

BPL have been involved in a number of discussions with public services looking at how co ownership may work for them.  However, so often there are insurmountable obstacles such as funding or structural issues thrown in the way that despite there being a strong will, it is difficult to find the way to make it happen.  This is where the politicians can help.  Remove these obstacles so that co ownership can become a real alternative to public ownership. It's not about the soft option, the workers' utopia or change for change sake.  It's about putting public services in the control of those who know it best, who are committed to service delivery and who are passionate about making a difference.