Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) strapped for cash continue to see time and money disappear on lengthy procurement processes open to private companies and legal challenges. In recent weeks, two large-scale … Read more
Commissioning
Hundreds of non-clinical support staff are being forced out of NHS employment by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) by a process that appeared all along to … Read more
The government plans for private hospitals to provide NHS patients in England with as many as a million extra appointments, scans and operations a year in a drive to cut … Read more
EMED, a private patient transport company taking over contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds, is reported to be grappling with concerns about service performance and risk to patients. EMED … Read more
Nottingham University Hospitals Trust have outraged trade unions and campaigners by outsourcing parts of their finance department in the desperate effort to cut spending. The Trust faces a £104m deficit … Read more
More than 20 radiographers, radiology assistants and associated support staff, members of the GMB employed by Frimley Health have opted to suspend action following their 100% ballot vote to strike. … Read more
The private equity-owned company, HCRG Care, has been awarded a contract to lead all adult and community services across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) Integrated Care … Read more
Electing a Labour government with its close links to the trade unions raises many expectations. The King’s Speech commitment to legislate policy around workers’ rights includes tackling decades of outsourcing, with … Read more
A survey of 200 eye doctors by the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI), shared with the Guardian, reports that the vast majority believe increased outsourcing of cataract … Read more
Few campaigners or union activists appear to have noticed or commented upon Labour’s Manifesto commitment to roll back privatisation in public services. Some of Labour’s manifesto promises go further than … Read more
Active Care Group, a company owned by private equity that cares for hundreds of vulnerable patients for the NHS, has narrowly avoided going out of business. After months of escalating … Read more
HSJ reports that Clinical Partners Limited and Psychiatry UK, two private companies that offer outsourced NHS assessments for ADHD and autism, have seen huge increases in income. The companies’ steep growth … Read more
The HSJ reports that an arrangement between Alder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust and Procure Partnerships Framework Limited (PPFL),a procurement service provider, has been challenged in the High Court by rival … Read more
The BBC reports that secret documents show a scramble to safeguard critical public services from the potential collapse of tech giant Atos, which works with billions of pounds worth of … Read more
East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust seems determined to outsource nonclinical support services at Colchester Hospital, 12 years after boasting of the Colchester trust’s success at bringing them back … Read more
The BBC reports that the Thornbury Nursing Services staffing agency is routinely charging up to £2,000 a shift to provide last-minute freelance nurses to NHS hospitals. Glen Burley, chief executive … Read more
A chain of GP surgeries in London run by a private company has been operating “without permission” from NHS commissioners since December 2023, according to campaigners from North East London … Read more
The business press and private sector spin doctors are doing their best to talk up the growth of the private hospital sector despite increasing signs that the prices of private … Read more
An investigation by HSJ has found that up to 20 per cent of NHS elective patients are now being treated by private hospitals in some areas. There has been an … Read more
The latest Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts (2022-23) have updated the published figures on NHS spending on private sector and non-NHS providers. They show that the private … Read more
