On 1 October 2020, NHS England passed its budget for specialist mental health services to 10 groups of providers across England, but plans show that even after changes, there will be a … Read more
Mental health
The Times reports that Sir Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, has criticised the pharmaceutical company Essential Pharma for “using the cover of coronavirus to try to price-gouge British taxpayers”. … Read more
Covid-19 contracts The Covid-19 pandemic beginning in March 2020 began several months of intense contracting activity by government departments. By mid-January 2021, the UK government had awarded £21.6 bn worth of … Read more
The private company, Cygnet Healthcare, that ran an NHS learning disability hospital hit by revelations of staff abuse of vulnerable patients had been under scrutiny from the authorities over safety and safeguarding … Read more
A contract for the care of children with autism is to be the subject of an independent review triggered by NHS England. The review will examine the oversight and management … Read more
CQC inspectors have rated an adolescent mental health unit as “inadequate” and highlighted a series of failings, including treatment of a patient and children being dragged across the floor. The … Read more
Tighter restrictions on access to mental health services mean that thousands of young patients are being denied care, leading to a large rise in the numbers turning up in A&E, … Read more
A CQC report on the management of Cygnus Health raises concerns about the leadership at a firm at the centre of a BBC expose over allegations of abuse at a … Read more
The Cygnet Acer Clinic, a privately run mental health unit, has been banned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) from admitting new patients; the inspectors found numerous safety failings, one … Read more
New research has revealed that US companies now provide 1 in 8 inpatient mental health beds in England. In some areas this chance is much higher. In Manchester there is … Read more
Maryfield Court, a private mental health hospital, has been rated “inadequate” and put into special measures by the Care Quality Commission. The hospital in Manchester is used for NHS patients … Read more
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have found 28 mental health units run by private companies to be “inadequate” in the past three years, leading to fears that vulnerable … Read more
HSJ reports that the private provider of autism services, Midlands Psychology, in Staffordshire has sent emails to parents cancelling new patients’ appointments ahead of its contract expiring on 30 September. … Read more
There is a backlog of about 1,800 under 18s waiting to be assessed in Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Cases include one person having waited 122 weeks for an assessment … Read more
The Care Quality Commission has placed two hospitals run by the Priory Group in special measures in a fresh controversy over state-funded private contractors’ treatment of people with mental illness … Read more
The £9.2 billion of NHS budget given to private health providers last year, the highest levels reported, despite Matt Hancock’s pledge to reduce outsourcing of patient care. Virgin Care and … Read more
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report has downgraded the Cygnet Hospital at Godden Green near Sevenoaks to “requires improvement”. The CQC also imposed two requirement notices on the hospital in … Read more
After BMA contacted all 176 UK CCGs, 78 gave figures on healthcare spending over the last 3 years. The figures showed a staggering £21m spending increase on private providers between … Read more
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust is forcing 160 maintenance and facilities workers from working in the NHS into the subsidiary, Summer Hill Services Ltd. Use of this type … Read more
The NHS is funding private healthcare providers an astounding £181m a year to send patients with severe mental health problems to care units that can reside hundreds of miles from … Read more
