Virgin Care has pulled out of a controversial contract with a financially-challenged clinical commissioning group in the West Midlands, HSJ has learned. In a letter sent yesterday, the private provider … Read more
Relying on private tech firms to innovate is a mistake – and the dependencies it creates are a key part of the NHS privatisation process. This week, Health Secretary Matt … Read more
Care homes operator Four Seasons Healthcare has collapsed into administration, sparking anxiety among its 17,000 residents and their relatives, as well as criticism from Labour over government funding cuts and … Read more
A patient transport company which collapsed after it withdrew from a key NHS contract owes more than £11m, including to the NHS, statements filed with Companies House have revealed. Liquidators … Read more
The Care Quality Commission has rated an independent mental health hospital as “inadequate”, just 15 months after it was rated as “good”, and following abuse allegations being raised. The care … Read more
Private hospitals should be encouraged to publish information on their safety, according to the leader of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, to prevent another scandal like the one … Read more
Tens of thousands of NHS workers are struggling to get by on the minimum wage because their private sector employers are failing to match public sector pay rises. The estimated … Read more
The rebellion against privatisation is growing, with the tide moving towards greater public control of key services. The pushback can be seen everywhere. In an excoriating assessment of a flagship … Read more
The BMJ reports that Hammersmith and Fulham CCG, which hosts the GP at Hand digital GP service, is cutting the funding for extended hours appointments available to patients at other … Read more
NHS bosses have made a significant U-turn over plans to privatise cancer scanning services after outcry from MPs, doctors and patients. The rethink means the two scanners used for the … Read more
NHS chiefs are bringing the cervical screening service back in-house after expressing dissatisfaction at the way it has been performing. The chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, told the … Read more
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is calling on independent ambulance services, commissioners and the wider system to do more to make sure patients are safe, following concerns identified during its … Read more
GP Online reports that Babylon Health’s GP at Hand service has never been inspected by the CQC despite signing up more than 45,000 NHS patients and preparing to expand to … Read more
The Guardian reports that government and opposition MPs are asking NHS England to halt the privatisation of cancer screening services in the Oxfordshire area, which doctors are warning will damage … Read more
The last month has seen patient numbers at the digital-first Babylon GP at Hand practice surge, according to local CCG board papers seen by Pulse, following a London-wide advertising campaign … Read more
More than 100 care home operators collapsed in 2018, taking the total over five years to more than 400 and sparking warnings that patients in homes that close down could … Read more
An acute trust is hoping to be among the first organisations to use a new form of private financing to help fund a replacement hospital. Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust is … Read more
Three bidders have been shortlisted for one of the biggest NHS pathology contracts, HSJ can reveal. Last September, the South East London pathology programme board launched a procurement for a new provider … Read more
PET-CT scanners, which helps diagnose and monitor tumours throughout treatment, are set to be taken over by a company called InHealth, leaving leaders of Oxford’s world class cancer teams aghast. … Read more
The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch has warned, in a report published today, that private finance initiative contracts and cost pressures could present a “systemic barrier” for trusts responding to patient … Read more
