HSJ has revealed that King’s College Hospital FT and Guy’s and St Thomas’ FT will pay an undisclosed sum to Serco for its share of Viapath, the firm they co-own. … Read more
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It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep pace with the rapid changes and abrupt U-turns in government policy on how to deal with the Covid-19 crisis. The past fortnight has seen … Read more
The Observer reports that Serco was fined more than £1 million for failures on a government contract a few months ago, but was still awarded a lucrative government contract for … Read more
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the NHS was unprepared due to its “heavily privatised, convoluted, and fundamentally dysfunctional system” of product supply, in particular of personal protective equipment (PPE), according … Read more
Serco has apologised after accidentally sharing the email addresses of almost 300 contact tracers. The company has been employed by the government to recruit staff as contact tracers for cases … Read more
HSJ reports that 14 trust procurement chiefs have been brought in to help the central team trying to source personal protective equipment. The heads of procurement at 14 trusts and … Read more
Out of sight of public scrutiny, dozens of private companies have been awarded contracts to carry out work for the NHS, much of which could have been carried out by … Read more
Randox Laboratories which employs the prominent Conservative politician Owen Paterson as a paid consultant has been awarded a £133 million contract under the new fast-track procurement rules that mean no other companies … Read more
The Guardian reports that doctors, campaign groups, academics and MPs have raised concerns that the government is using the coronavirus pandemic to transfer key public health duties from the NHS and other … Read more
Digital Health reports that eleven suppliers have been selected to provide video consultations for primary care in an effort to reduce the number of face-to-face consultations in primary care. The … Read more
The HSJ reports that twelve support staff including some senior managers say they have been “cast aside” unexpectedly after a new provider took over the contract for their service. The … Read more
In mid-March 2020, NHS England issued a confidential 48-hour tender for the immediate provision of online primary care consultation to help the health service cope with patient demand in the … Read more
A contract for the care of children with autism is to be the subject of an independent review triggered by NHS England. The review will examine the oversight and management … Read more
Synlab has been announced as the preferred bidder for a 15 year pathology contract worth £2.25 billion covering a large part of central and south London. The German company has … Read more
HSJ reports that NHS England and Improvement have allocated millions of pounds to outsource elective and diagnostic work to the independent sector, in an attempt to keep waiting lists down during … Read more
More than 80 ambulance service staff were left “in tears” and fearing for their jobs after a key patient transport contract in Worcestershire was awarded to the private company E-zec … Read more
An analysis of contract awards published from April 2018 to end of March 2019 found that 74% were awarded to non-NHS organisations, which includes private companies, charities and not-for-profit organisations. … Read more
New rules from NHS England to be put in place in April 2020 will mean digital-first GP providers will have to set up a clinic in most localities where they … Read more
More than 80 staff at the West Midlands Ambulance Trust were ‘in tears’ worried about their jobs as the contract was awarded to private provider, E-zec Medical Transport. West Midlands … Read more
One to One Midwives – private midwifery firm delivering NHS contract – has gone bust. The company implied that this was influenced by an “unsustainable financial structure” between the NHS … Read more
