Privatisation has long been held up as a panacea to the NHS’s problems. The first ‘PFI’ (Private Finance Initiative) schemes in the 90s were hailed as a possible solution to … Read more
Commissioners in north London have awarded an extended primary care services contract to a private provider over the GP federation that was already providing the service, HSJ has learned. Camden Clinical Commissioning … Read more
A Midlands clinical commissioning group is locked in a contract dispute with Virgin Care over a controversial “prime provider” contract awarded last year, HSJ has learned. East Staffordshire CCG disagrees with “contractual … Read more
The tender process in Staffordshire for a controversial contract for cancer services worth £687m has been abandoned; the consortium led by Interserve, failed to convince commissioners its offer was financially … Read more
Campaigners have said they will fight to reopen an Oxfordshire doctor’s surgery forced to close. Witney’s Deer Park practice will close later, leaving 4,000 people to look for new doctors. … Read more
Commissioners in Sussex paid a total of £642,000 in wages to former NHS staff after their private company employer ceased trading, HSJ can reveal. Alan Beasley, the chief finance officer for High … Read more
The country’s biggest accountancy firms have made at least £17.6m to date helping the NHS draw up plans that will lead to the closure or downgrade of hospitals. KPMG, McKinsey … Read more
Lewisham and Greenwich Trust stands to lose up to £6.6m of revenue over five years unless Circle Health, the winner of a musculoskeletal contract for Greenwich, contracts it to deliver … Read more
A private provider has launched legal proceedings against eight NHS commissioners after losing a bid for a £82m children’s community services contract. Virgin Care Services Limited issued court proceedings in … Read more
Doctors will not have to declare their private earnings, health officials have ruled, in a climbdown on NHS conflict of interest rules. Health officials were considering requiring every health service … Read more
For the first time Gloucestershire’s out of hours services for patients is set to be taken over by a private healthcare company. Care UK will take over provision of the … Read more
Patients could face paying their family doctors for out-of-hours appointments and minor procedures that fall outside the surgery’s contracted NHS work, under new plans being proposed by some GP leaders. … Read more
It has been a calamitous winter inside the NHS. Last week, three people tragically died at Worcestershire Royal hospital with a women dying of a heart attack after waiting for 35 … Read more
The NHS is spending millions on private companies that stop GPs referring patients to hospitals, an investigation has revealed. Controversial “referral management centres” are supposed to cut costs and improve the quality of GP … Read more
Pulse reports that GPs leaders in England are pushing ahead with plans to develop new structures that will enable GPs to carry out more private work in a bid to … Read more
NHS spending on private ambulances soars to meet demand The Telegraph: 10 August 2015 Private ambulance spending in London rises ‘tenfold’ (BBC News: 22 October 2014 NHS spending doubles on private … Read more
Opposition councillors have criticised plans to treat children as “guinea pigs” by awarding a £250 million family support service contract to Virgin Care. Essex County Council awarded the seven-year contract to … Read more
A “catalogue of failures” resulted in the collapse of an £800 million NHS contract to outsource care of older and mentally ill people, the Commons spending watchdog warned. An influential committee of … Read more
An investigation into the five biggest firms providing homecare services in the UK has found millions of pounds has been paid to some owners amid a crisis in standards of … Read more
There is no respite from looming residential care crisis, with over a quarter of care homes at risk of failure due to government underfunding, according to new research. The new report … Read more
