The Guardian reports that patients who face long NHS waiting lists and cannot afford to go private are being encouraged to sign up for “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) deals … Read more
Private Providers
Our work and news stories on private providers.
The takeover of healthcare services by private equity funds is associated with a worse quality of care and higher costs, according to the largest study ever undertaken on the effect … Read more
The NHS was set up to be a universal health service, covering the whole population, providing care according to clinical need, not ability to pay, and funded from general taxation. … Read more
Sky News has reported on a report in The Times that patients will soon be able to use the NHS app to opt for private hospital treatment in an effort … Read more
The Guardian reports that patients are paying up to £550 an hour to see private GPs amid frustration at the delays many face getting an appointment with an NHS family doctor. Growing … Read more
Two former senior managers at The Priory Group, a large mental health provider, have told the BBC they had concerns about the safety of patients and staff. The whistleblowers claim … Read more
Two weeks ago, the Lowdown took a detailed look at the situation of the private healthcare sector. We were seeking to understand why – after 13 years of policies promoting privatisation and … Read more
OpenDemocracy reports that the private hospital sector saw 6.6% fewer people in 2022 than 2019, despite lucrative contracts to fix wait lists. The government handed almost half a billion pounds … Read more
According to a recent report in the (£paywalled) Times, Rishi Sunak’s so-called “elective recovery task force,” steered no doubt by its private sector participants, is planning new legislation this summer … Read more
HSJ has reported that Royal United Hospitals Bath Foundation Trust has been accused of promoting its private hospital by highlighting the long NHS waiting times which it is supposed to … Read more
With no long-term NHS workforce strategy on the horizon, the government’s default policy on slashing elective waiting lists – pushing more NHS patients towards private hospitals dependent on NHS-trained staff … Read more
At the end of last year Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting decided to wind up Labour supporters and delight Telegraph readers by proposing increased use of the private … Read more
An investigation by The Independent and Sky News has found that children have been left traumatised by abuse at The Huntercombe Group of hospitals (now Active Care Group). The investigation … Read more
NHS England has revealed plans to crack down on poor care being provided by mental health service providers. The organisation has told HSJ of a new quality programme that focuses on … Read more
Recent moves by Babylon Health raise more questions on how long the company will remain a partner to the NHS, as it leaves contracts in the UK and looks to … Read more
Privatisation of the NHS has been found to correspond to a decline in care quality and “significantly” increased deaths from treatable causes, according to a study from researchers at the … Read more
Optum, a subsidiary of the US corporation United Health, is to acquire Leeds-based EMIS Group, one of the UK’s largest handlers of NHS data. The deal values EMIS at approximately … Read more
An investigation by BBC’s Panorama, including using an undercover journalist to work as a GP receptionist, has found that Operose, the UK’s biggest chain of GP surgeries, has let less-qualified Patient … Read more
Babylon Health’s CEO Dr Ali Parsa has said that the company needs to be “very cautious” about expanding its business in the UK as it loses money on every patient. … Read more
The push to expand the number of ‘virtual wards’ across England is set to be another opportunity for independent providers to gain NHS contracts. NHS England wants a rapid expansion … Read more
