The private sector has been the winner in the Government’s response to COVID-19 in England – but why, given the growing and predictable litany of mistakes it has made? A … Read more
Coronavirus
McKinsey & Co is set to receive £563,400 for a few weeks of work to help define the “vision, purpose and narrative” of a permanent organisation to manage the coronavirus … Read more
The revamped app will be based on Apple and Google’s decentralised model. NHSX has been working with the tech giants to develop a new version of the app after abandoning its … Read more
The centralised test and trace system run by companies, like Serco and Sitel, is cutting 6,000 contact tracer jobs and allocating roles to regional teams to work with councils. This … Read more
NHS England has terminated a number of its block contracts including those with all the inner London private hospitals — established at the beginning of the covid outbreak, despite a … Read more
HSJ reports that the government will not receive any reimbursement for the 50 million masks supplied by Ayanda Capital, which may never be used in the NHS. The FFP2 masks … Read more
The Guardian reports that contract tracers hired to work on England’s test-and-trace system report that they are making only a handful of calls every month and are occupying their time with barbecues … Read more
Allyson Pollock, clinical professor of public health at Newcastle University and author of NHS plc: the Privatisation of Our Health Care, discusses why the government’s test, track and trace system, … Read more
What links a network of rapidly-converted field hospitals, a family run food and beverages company in Antrim, a network of “super-labs”, and Serco? The final name has probably given it … Read more
The Independent reports that it has been informed by a whistleblower that dozens of shifts at one of the government’s coronavirus mega-labs have been cancelled and staff paid to stay away because … Read more
The Guardian reports that the Department of Health and Social Care is set to create a new national framework for testing which would replace current arrangements, with further details released … Read more
An investigation by journalists at The Independent into the testing for Covid-19 and reporting of test results found a number of major flaws in the process due to the setting … Read more
PAUL EVANS – director of the NHS Support Federation, comments Millions of patients had their treatment put on hold whilst the NHS battled Covid-19, and waited with considerable anxiety not knowing when … Read more
A £5 billion deal to extend the use of the private sector to treat NHS patients is being blocked by the Treasury according to reports from inside the NHS. The … Read more
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep pace with the rapid changes and abrupt U-turns in government policy on how to deal with the Covid-19 crisis. The past fortnight has seen … Read more
The Observer reports that Serco was fined more than £1 million for failures on a government contract a few months ago, but was still awarded a lucrative government contract for … Read more
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has awarded a contract to the artificial intelligence company Faculty, a firm hired to work on the Vote Leave campaign, that may … Read more
The easing of the lockdown and a safe return to school for hundreds of children and their teachers is dependent on an effective test, track and trace programme. Over the … Read more
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the NHS was unprepared due to its “heavily privatised, convoluted, and fundamentally dysfunctional system” of product supply, in particular of personal protective equipment (PPE), according … Read more
Serco has apologised after accidentally sharing the email addresses of almost 300 contact tracers. The company has been employed by the government to recruit staff as contact tracers for cases … Read more
