Hammersmith & Fulham Save Our NHS (HAFSON) campaigners in North West London have told The Lowdown of a brewing row over leaked plans to force through a wholesale reorganisation of … Read more
GP surgeries
A survey by Pulse has found that soaring use of private healthcare for tests and treatments is piling pressure on overstretched GP surgeries, with family doctors warning that standard NHS care … Read more
An ICB has decided to re-tender an APMS contract currently run by Operose Health, following concerns around overuse of non-GP staff. North Central London ICB will not renew the contract … Read more
Centene, a major US health insurer, has just agreed to sell off its largest British acquisition, Circle Healthcare, which owned the UK’s biggest chain of private hospitals. The US corporation’s … Read more
The digital health company Babylon Health is set to withdraw from the New York Stock Exchange and become a private company again as its leading creditor AlbaCore Capital LLP, takes … Read more
The Guardian reports that patients are paying up to £550 an hour to see private GPs amid frustration at the delays many face getting an appointment with an NHS family doctor. Growing … Read more
The decision by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) to award a contract to run a well-loved and successful GP practice in Chorley, Lancashire, to SSP Health, a … Read more
A Pulse investigation into the continued problems of the Primary Care Support Services contract run by Capita since 2015 reveals that many problems remain. It’s been seven years since NHS … Read more
Recent moves by Babylon Health raise more questions on how long the company will remain a partner to the NHS, as it leaves contracts in the UK and looks to … Read more
An investigation by BBC’s Panorama, including using an undercover journalist to work as a GP receptionist, has found that Operose, the UK’s biggest chain of GP surgeries, has let less-qualified Patient … Read more
Babylon Health’s CEO Dr Ali Parsa has said that the company needs to be “very cautious” about expanding its business in the UK as it loses money on every patient. … Read more
The chair of the RCGP has warned that there is a ‘real threat’ that general practice will face the same fate as dentistry in the UK – where a growing … Read more
There was little public attention paid to the decision last year by US health corporation Centene to spend a reported $700 million in cash to buy out the remaining 60% it didn’t … Read more
A Judge has ruled that Pharmacorp must pay £13,670 covering fines, legal costs and a victim surcharge for prescribing drugs without a CQC registration. The online GP service, also known … Read more
Campaigners against privatisation of the NHS have written to Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, questioning the legality of the recent takeover of large numbers of … Read more
Operose Health Ltd, the UK arm of the large US healthcare insurance provider Centene Corporation, is to take over AT Medics, one of the leading providers of primary care services … Read more
Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has revealed that an independent review is taking place to see if delays to treatment for thousands of patients using services run by DMC … Read more
This article gives an overview of the failures that have taken place when non-NHS organisations (private and not-for-profit) have been awarded contracts to run NHS services. Failures have taken place … Read more
In primary care, the government’s enthusiasm for private company involvement led to encouraging groups of GPs to band together to set up their own private limited companies to run large … Read more
The private company DMC Healthcare will not receive any compensation following the loss of a contract for five GP surgeries and suspension from three others. DMC Healthcare notified NHS chiefs it would … Read more
