Two former senior managers at The Priory Group, a large mental health provider, have told the BBC they had concerns about the safety of patients and staff. The whistleblowers claim … Read more
Private Providers
Our work and news stories on private providers.
Two weeks ago, the Lowdown took a detailed look at the situation of the private healthcare sector. We were seeking to understand why – after 13 years of policies promoting privatisation and … Read more
OpenDemocracy reports that the private hospital sector saw 6.6% fewer people in 2022 than 2019, despite lucrative contracts to fix wait lists. The government handed almost half a billion pounds … Read more
According to a recent report in the (£paywalled) Times, Rishi Sunak’s so-called “elective recovery task force,” steered no doubt by its private sector participants, is planning new legislation this summer … 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
With no long-term NHS workforce strategy on the horizon, the government’s default policy on slashing elective waiting lists – pushing more NHS patients towards private hospitals dependent on NHS-trained staff … Read more
At the end of last year Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting decided to wind up Labour supporters and delight Telegraph readers by proposing increased use of the private … Read more
An investigation by The Independent and Sky News has found that children have been left traumatised by abuse at The Huntercombe Group of hospitals (now Active Care Group). The investigation … Read more
NHS England has revealed plans to crack down on poor care being provided by mental health service providers. The organisation has told HSJ of a new quality programme that focuses on … 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
Privatisation of the NHS has been found to correspond to a decline in care quality and “significantly” increased deaths from treatable causes, according to a study from researchers at the … Read more
Optum, a subsidiary of the US corporation United Health, is to acquire Leeds-based EMIS Group, one of the UK’s largest handlers of NHS data. The deal values EMIS at approximately … 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 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
The NHS is paying £2bn a year to private hospitals to care for mental health patients because it does not have enough of its own beds, according to a report by Laing … 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
An increasing number of people in the UK are paying for private medical treatment because of the record delays people are facing trying to access NHS care, a report from Laing & … Read more
While NHS resources are facing a renewed and tightening financial squeeze, the limited funds available are more likely than ever to be diverted to paying for services in private hospitals … Read more
As the most vulnerable NHS mental health patients face growing waits for treatment, and the health secretary has announced that new staff ministers announce they want to start talking about … Read more
