The coronavirus test and trace system was condemned as “barely functional” today as its tsar admitted that demand was up to four times capacity, while 90% of tests were failing to … Read more
Serco has won an additional £45m to provide COVID test centres, openDemocracy has reported. The deal has not been made public, but provides a major additional role for the controversial … Read more
The Guardian reports that the privately-run laboratories that analyse swabs from people in the community, including care homes, were stretched to capacity even in late August, and were unable to … Read more
The FT reports that Serco has won the most Covid-related government contracts among UK-listed outsourcers. The research by the data provider Tussell shows that the large outsourcing groups, including Serco, … Read more
The latest available NHS England figures (September 3) show that of available beds open overnight, an undifferentiated 110,000 beds of all types (general and acute, mental health, maternity, Learning Difficulties) were … Read more
On average Clinical Commissioning Groups spend around 15% of their expenditure purchasing healthcare from non-NHS organisations, but an NHS Support Federation survey of 2019/20 annual accounts also shows 18 CCGs … Read more
A seemingly endless succession of large-scale “Framework Agreements” have been rolled out by NHS England and the Department of Health in recent months, creating conditions for more rapid award of … Read more
The Doctors’ Association has criticised the coronavirus testing system as “an utter shambles” after collecting a dossier of cases where the system has led to long journeys and considerable waits … Read more
The UK’s test-and-trace system for coronavirus has a backlog of nearly 200,000 swabs, resulting in samples being sent to laboratories in Italy and Germany as the Government’s privately run system struggles … Read more
A new poll has found that almost half of British voters do not believe Boris Johnson’s claim that the NHS is “off the table” in trade deals. The survey by pollsters Survation found … Read more
The private sector has been the winner in the Government’s response to COVID-19 in England – but why, given the growing and predictable litany of mistakes it has made? A … Read more
An analysis by the the Open Contracting Partnership and Spend Network has found that the UK has spent more than £2.5bn on services and equipment related to the Covid-19 pandemic. … Read more
A report from the organisation for NHS managers, NHS Providers, warns that the increasing use of private sector hospitals to look after patients with complex learning disabilities has left patients at risk … Read more
The North of England Commercial Procurement Collaboration are to launch a £1.4 bn procurement framework for external help for discharge and community services. The procurement was launched after consulting with … Read more
The health secretary Matt Hancock today heaped praise on private firms and urged them to “join us” as he announced a new health body to replace Public Health England. He … Read more
McKinsey & Co is set to receive £563,400 for a few weeks of work to help define the “vision, purpose and narrative” of a permanent organisation to manage the coronavirus … Read more
NHS England has announced its intention to seek private hospital groups to help with reducing waiting lists. The planned contract could result in a spend of £10bn on outsourcing work … 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
The revamped app will be based on Apple and Google’s decentralised model. NHSX has been working with the tech giants to develop a new version of the app after abandoning its … Read more
The centralised test and trace system run by companies, like Serco and Sitel, is cutting 6,000 contact tracer jobs and allocating roles to regional teams to work with councils. This … Read more
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