Personally I think it's about money (lack of) and over-large organisations that are run by 'the bureaucrats' and not by the clinicians. It's also a chronic lack of skills.
The fat cat CEOs of health trusts are paid a fortune to slam a lid down on the problem, and stifle any protest from within (think how appallingly whistleblowers are treated.)
The lack of skills - especially in nursing, plus radiography and all the other medical skills that are in chronic short supply - is directly due to the governemtn refusing to invest in sufficient training. I believe that, if I remember a new story recently correctly, for the 20k nursing training places offered, there were twice that number of UK applicants.....but no places for them. So, of course, the hospitals have to continually hire in what they can from abroad. Then there is the stress on nurses such that they leave the professional (just as teachers are doing), compounding the problem.
So, yes, it's a lack of money, but money spent on the right things and the right staff.
I don't think there's any 'ideological' drive for privatisation, just a desire to save money....just as the government does with all the other state/public organisations, outsourcing to save a buck or two in the short term, and end up with massive bills to be paid to private companies later on.
Including, of course, the national disgrace of PFI, where trusts were forced to go to PFI companies, signing up to the most horrendous contracts that are costing the NHS up to 8 times the actual cost of the buildings, and landing them with crippling and outrageous maintenance contracts.