Lowdown readers will have seen the widespread outrage about the latest revelations around Horizon and the Post Office, but many who have campaigned against privatisation and outsourcing won’t be too … Read more
The president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has sparked a row with independent sector bosses after warning ophthalmology risks becoming largely privatised unless NHS England radically changes the specialty’s … Read more
The latest figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) make worrying reading for private hospital bosses, with no sign of the long-expected boost in numbers of patients dipping in to savings … Read more
The giant American health corporation Centene has now completed a divestment of all its health care investments in England by selling off its subsidiary Operose, which had controversially acquired 60 GP … Read more
Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board is advertising a contract worth around £1.8bn in what will represent a major shake-up of community health services, and the … Read more
Patients are coming to serious harm by a lack of regulation of the private companies in the homecare medicines sector, according to a damning report by the House of Lords Public … Read more
The Guardian has revealed that the NHS is to hand a key role in handling patient data and share of a £480m contract to the US spy technology firm Palantir. … Read more
More evidence is emerging on the failure of the private hospital sector to make the expected gains from the chronic crisis of the NHS and its lengthening waiting lists. Far … Read more
Competitive tendering for contracts in the NHS is set to reduce significantly once the new framework for the procurement of health services – the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) – launches in January … Read more
A survey by Pulse has found that soaring use of private healthcare for tests and treatments is piling pressure on overstretched GP surgeries, with family doctors warning that standard NHS care … Read more
HSJ reports that experts have warned that the drive to cut NHS waiting lists is becoming ‘disproportionately reliant’ on the private sector, as new data suggests rapid growth in the … Read more
A 15 year workforce strategy is to be developed for social care by Skills for Care, the workforce development body, in an effort to address the ongoing crisis in the workforce. The … Read more
Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust recently discovered at least 1,000 cases were being returned to the trust from independent provider Omnes Healthcare following “complications” with a pathway for ear, … Read more
In the face of rising waiting lists government policy has aimed to increase the role of the independent sector in tackling these record delays, but as a Lowdown analysis of … Read more
An ICB has decided to re-tender an APMS contract currently run by Operose Health, following concerns around overuse of non-GP staff. North Central London ICB will not renew the contract … Read more
The latest (September) figures from the private sector’s own official source, the Private Healthcare Information Network, confirm yet again how limited has been the growth in private hospitals’ inpatient caseload – despite … Read more
A coroner has warned that a private hospital is relying on NHS ambulances to transport patients despite “being fully aware” of the pressures on the ambulance service and resulting delays. The warning … Read more
Matthew Gould, the former head of NHS digital policy has been appointed to the advisory board of Quantexa, a leading UK data technology company. Matthew Gould was originally hired to head … Read more
Cygnet Healthcare, a private provider of mental health services, has been ordered to pay more than £1.5m – the largest fine issued for such a case – after pleading guilty … Read more
One of the Conservatives’ biggest ever donors has profited from £135m of contracts with the Department of Health and Social Care in under four years. Frank Hester, a healthcare tech … Read more
