Ministers falling for private sector spin?
One of the reasons ministers appear to have decided that they need the Department for Health and Social Care to take over complete control of the NHS and eliminate NHS … Read more
New ICB figures show uneven trends on use of private sector?
New figures published earlier this month show the extent to which some Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have increased their use of the private sector since Labour took office last July, … Read more
Government change course after lobbying on NHS spin-off companies
After months of dispute, the government has decided to bring an end to the farce of NHS Trusts forming wholly owned subsidiary companies – subcos – to avoid tax and … Read more
Dorset NHS hospital aiming for 500% increase in private patients to pay for buildings
University Hospital Dorset (UHD) NHS Foundation Trust based in Bournemouth and Poole has launched a tender seeking a private healthcare company as a long-term joint venture partner in order to … Read more
Private equity “decimated” US hospitals according to report – now targeting the NHS
In late August the release of a report by US senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) on the destruction of hospitals in his home state of Connecticut, and across the US by private equity … Read more
Private finance to power NHS move into community – other options?
The government’s recently unveiled 10-Year Health Plan wants to set up to 300 “neighbourhood health hubs.” – local one-stop centres to offer diagnostics, outpatient treatment, mental health support, and preventive … Read more
Process to outsource Brighton primary care put on hold
The selection process for a provider of primary care services for the Whitehawk surgery in East Brighton “was neither transparent nor fair”, according to the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel (IPCPP). … Read more
Time to act on profiteering from NHS eye ops
In an attempt to rein in the private providers of ophthalmology services, NHS England has just launched a consultation to reduce tariff prices for three of the most common procedures. … Read more
ICB pushes Shropshire GPs aside to bring in venture capital company
In a controversial move, the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (STWICB) has announced the termination of its contract with Shropdoc, a local not-for-profit organization run by GPs, for out-of-hours … Read more
Labour and the private sector: an unequal marriage
Labour’s delayed and much vaunted Ten Year Plan for the NHS, Fit for the Future, has 150-plus pages rammed full of ideas, some good, some bad – but barely a word on how … Read more
Radiology delays linked to unsustainable NHS Privatisation
Nearly one million patients in England waited over a month for their scan results in 2024, marking a 28% increase from the previous year, according to data published by the Royal College … Read more
Review of new report: ”forty years of failure” – examining the lessons from NHS outsourcing
Forty years of failure – Private sector contracting and its impact on the NHS, by Dr John Lister, offers a scathing critique of the NHS’s privatisation experiments. Each chapter peels back … Read more
SubCos return, in threat to NHS pay and conditions
Subsidiary companies (Sub Co), spun off from the NHS, are back in favour as part of the effort to save money in the NHS. Sir Jim MacKey, NHS England’s transition CEO, … Read more
Management consultants step up for NHS shakeup and beyond
The scale of the government’s structural overhaul of the NHS is proving to be far greater than initially thought, with up to 30,000 jobs now at risk. With internal battles to … Read more
Waste and delay still occur in improved outsourcing process
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) strapped for cash continue to see time and money disappear on lengthy procurement processes open to private companies and legal challenges. In recent weeks, two large-scale … Read more
Lack of accountability and management failure: what the ESNEFT outsourcing decision reveals
Hundreds of non-clinical support staff are being forced out of NHS employment by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) by a process that appeared all along to … Read more
Employers offer more health insurance benefits
According to headline figures from a report by private health market analysts LaingBuisson, the private medical insurance (PMI) business is booming. Almost one in eight people, or 4.68 million, have some form … Read more
Healthcare analysts say almost one in eight Britons now has private medical insurance
Analysts of private healthcare LaingBuisson say that almost one in eight Britons now has medical insurance, the highest proportion since 2008, with NHS care delays driving a rise in people … Read more
Independent sector charges rise for hysterectomies in face of NHS delays
The Guardian reports on research showing women are paying up to £11,154 for a hysterectomy in a private hospital, amid huge delays for NHS gynaecological care prompting the suggestion that … Read more
Increased role for private sector in cutting NHS waiting lists in England
The government plans for private hospitals to provide NHS patients in England with as many as a million extra appointments, scans and operations a year in a drive to cut … Read more
