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
An MP has called on NHS managers to resolve problems with primary care in her constituency after the announcement that a practice will close just a year after a new … Read more
Virgin Care has been awarded two five year contracts to provide community and urgent care services for a clinical commissioning group in Lancashire. West Lancashire CCG launched a tender process … Read more
Virgin Care will run statutory adult social work services in Bath and North East Somerset from April 2017, in deal believed to be first of its type. Richard Branson’s Virgin … Read more
GP support services remain a ‘chaotic mess’ despite nearly a year passing since NHS England outsourced the services to Capita, the GPC has warned. The GPC said that the Government … Read more
Some 27,000 patients are at risk of losing their GP practice as a provider has decided to hand back a contract it says is ‘not fit for purpose’. Greenbrook Healthcare, … Read more
A major Pulse investigation has revealed that private companies are boosting their profits by up to 100% as the health service struggles to cope. An analysis of company reports and … Read more
A trust has said it has no plans to pull out of its contract for a troubled radiology information system, shortly after its leaders considered terminating the deal early. A … Read more
Nurses at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust are having to clean wards after cleaners from a private company in order to maintain standards, the trust board has said. At a meeting … Read more
There was a “gap” in commissioners’ assurance process for an urgent care contract with Care UK and the provider’s staffing model was flawed, a review has found. The report by Verita, published … Read more
A hospital trust which is £135million in debt has sparked fury by handing a whopping £600million contract to Serco. Debt-ridden Barts Health NHS Trust is already in Financial Special Measures … Read more
Family doctors have criticised the “shambles” that has ensued after the firm Capita was handed a £700m contract to provide important backup services to GP surgeries across England. GP practices … Read more
A major hospital in Coventry will need to undergo remedial work after it emerged that it was built without the guaranteed fire safeguards. University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust … Read more
