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
contract failure
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
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
Lowdown readers will have seen the widespread outrage about the latest revelations around Horizon and the Post Office, but many who have campaigned against privatisation and outsourcing won’t be too … Read more
Patients are coming to serious harm by a lack of regulation of the private companies in the homecare medicines sector, according to a damning report by the House of Lords Public … Read more
An ICB has decided to re-tender an APMS contract currently run by Operose Health, following concerns around overuse of non-GP staff. North Central London ICB will not renew the contract … Read more
The Guardian reports that the UK government is unlikely to recover any money from a healthcare recruitment agency that allegedly failed to deliver on a multimillion-pound PPE contract awarded during … 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
The PFI contractor, Whittington Facilities Ltd, left a hospital ‘in an unsafe condition’ for nine months after a fire which required patients to be evacuated, a trust has claimed in … Read more
A scandal-hit children’s mental health hospital will close months after an investigation by The Independent uncovered claims of poor care and systemic abuse. Taplow Manor hospital, in Maidenhead, was threatened with closure by the … Read more
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) finally published their annual report and accounts for 2021-22 at the end of January – but were rapped over the knuckles for … Read more
Four urgent care treatment centres run by Partnership of East London Co-operatives (PELC) Limited have been rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and put in special measures. The centres, King George’s Emergency … Read more
The Guardian reports that the government has accused PPE Medpro, the company linked to the Conservative peer Michelle Mone, of supplying defective gowns that could have compromised the safety of patients had … Read more
The Times reports that Philip Johnson, majority owner and CEO of RamFoam, whose company made a £70 million profit on a contract for PPE that was mostly unused has paid … Read more
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has claimed that staff mistakes at Immensa Laboratories in Wolverhampton may have caused 23 extra deaths from Covid-19. The report said as many as … Read more
A Pulse investigation into the continued problems of the Primary Care Support Services contract run by Capita since 2015 reveals that many problems remain. It’s been seven years since NHS … 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
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
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
The private cancer diagnostic and treatment company Rutherford Health has been placed into liquidation. Only eight months ago the opening of a new community diagnostics hub (CDH) within a partnership between … Read more
