Independent providers are receiving substantial public funds to help shift the backlog in diagnostics, amidst fears of long term arrangements NHS radiology staff are understaffed by 33% and equipment is … Read more
Commissioning
Alun Cairns, a former Welsh secretary, took a £15,000-a-year job at a diagnostics company a few weeks before it was part of a consortium that secured a £75 million government … Read more
The Times has reported that Randox, the diagnostics company that paid Owen Paterson as a lobbyist, won a £133 million Covid-19 testing contract days before government officials concluded that it … Read more
The government’s test-and-trace system, run by Serco and several other private providers, has failed to achieve “its main objective” to cut infection levels and help Britain return to normal despite … Read more
South West London Clinical Commissioning Group has brought in the London Ambulance Service Trust as a “resilience partner” for the service supplied by Vocare, according to its board papers for … Read more
Health Minister Edward Argar has agreed to table a government amendment to the Health and Care Bill that would prevent private interests from being on any Integrated Care Board. This has now … Read more
The takeover of a hospital’s urgent treatment centre by Greenbrook Healthcare has sparked opposition from staff and trade unions. King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust will transfer staff working at its urgent treatment … Read more
The Times reports that former Conservative councillor, Steve Dechan, received a £120 million government contract for face shields whose quality is so doubtful that fewer than 1 in 400 have … Read more
Firms are being invited to bid to run 150 new community diagnostic facilities as part of £10bn NHS framework contract which has been advertised by NHS England. Planning for these new facilities … Read more
Two contracts for contact tracers with Serco and Sitel have been extended by six months by the Department of Health and Social Care for an additional cost of £168m. Serco … Read more
A total, constipated silence from the NHS and ministers shrouds the long-delayed new “mega lab” that was supposed to have opened in Leamington Spa last January as part of the … Read more
A judge has ruled that Michael Gove acted unlawfully when the government awarded a contract without a tender to a polling company owned by long-term associates of his and Dominic Cummings, … Read more
NHS dentistry is facing a “twin crisis of access and affordability”, according to the watchdog Healthwatch England, which means in reality for many people NHS dentistry no longer exists. The … Read more
The National Audit Office (NAO) has been blocked by the government from revealing the names of companies that were directed to a ‘VIP lane’ to win lucrative COVID contracts. The … Read more
A court has heard that ministers “lobbied” officials to chase the progress of contracts for the supply of personal protective equipment that were being processed through a government “VIP lane” … Read more
The High Court has heard how the NatWest suspended Matt Hancock’s team from making payments to PPE suppliers at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic over fears they were being … Read more
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has paid out more than £38 million after reneging on a pre-contract arrangement with a provider of COVID-19 testing services. An NHS … Read more
The government has been urged to publish details of up to £2bn in Covid-19 contracts to provide extra capacity during the pandemic awarded to private healthcare companies, including some that have … Read more
Guidance recently issued by NHS England could lead to entire networks of diagnostic imaging services being run by the private sector. NHS trusts have until 2023 to set up separate entities to … Read more
Research carried out by the Labour Party shows that more than £96bn of health service funding has gone to non-NHS providers of care over the last decade, with the amount … Read more
