John Hutton signed off thirteen NHS Private Finance Initiative (PFI) building projects as a Labour health minister in 2002 (see footnote). Last month he was appointed to speak up for private sector investors ahead … Read more
Hospitals
HSJ reports that experts have warned that the drive to cut NHS waiting lists is becoming ‘disproportionately reliant’ on the private sector, as new data suggests rapid growth in the … Read more
A continuing barrage of misinformation on the supposed boom in private medical treatment as a result of the soaring NHS waiting lists has continued into the summer ‘silly season’ for … 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 BBC reports that ministers want to unlock spare capacity to get more people the treatment and operations they need. This includes opening eight privately-run diagnostic centres and using new … Read more
An international private equity firm has bought up a UK-based agency that employs NHS doctors and nurses outside their contracted hours – to do “insourcing” work in NHS hospitals, reports the Financial Times. … Read more
The (£ paywalled) Times has reported that one of the outcomes of Rishi Sunak’s controversial taskforce on boosting NHS contracts with private hospitals will be a new push to persuade patients to … Read more
A January HSJ article has confirmed what trade union representatives and Labour MPs have repeatedly argued: that the creation of ‘wholly owned’ sub companies by NHS Trusts (and FTs) was in almost every case, … Read more
HSJ has reported that Royal United Hospitals Bath Foundation Trust has been accused of promoting its private hospital by highlighting the long NHS waiting times which it is supposed to … Read more
Byline Times reports that a government health minister and two senior officials held a meeting with a Westminster lobbying group funded by private healthcare firms. As previously revealed by Byline Times, the … 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
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust has launched legal action against Hadfield Healthcare Partnerships and Kajima Construction Europe after the closure of the Sir Robert Hadfield wing at the trust’s Northern … Read more
The push to expand the number of ‘virtual wards’ across England is set to be another opportunity for independent providers to gain NHS contracts. NHS England wants a rapid expansion … Read more
Caroline Sharp believed that when her daughter Emma Pring was admitted for treatment at the private Cygnet hospital in Maidstone, it would be a turning point in her daughter’s life. … Read more
Cygnet Wast Hills, an independent hospital for people with complex learning disabilities or autism, has yet again been rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission following a visit in November … 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
The Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI), an independent thinktank, has identified 481 consultants in England with shares in 34 private ventures set up in partnership with providers ranging from … Read more
Health secretary Sajid Javid’s decision last week to force through another ‘surge capacity’ deal with independent providers, to protect the health service from being overwhelmed by the Omicron variant, has … Read more
Almost identical reports in the (£) Times and Daily Mail that Sajid Javid “is planning to set up academy style hospitals,” potentially run by the private sector (coyly described as “outside sponsors”), are clearly much more … Read more
Royal Surrey Foundation Trust is set to take legal action against the private healthcare insurance giant, Bupa, accusing the company of failing to fully reimburse the NHS for treating its … Read more
