Lords to investigate private health firms used to deliver NHS drugs

Peers are launching an inquiry into private health companies paid millions of pounds to courier NHS medicines in England, after the Guardian exposed how sick children and adults were being harmed by botched, delayed or missed deliveries.

The House of Lords public services committee will examine “the extent of the problems in homecare medicine services”, and the impact on patients, clinicians and the wider health service. More than 500,000 patients and their families rely on private companies contracted by the NHS to deliver essential medical supplies and care to their homes.

A Guardian investigation revealed how Sciensus, Britain’s biggest provider of homecare medicines services, has struggled to provide a safe or reliable service. Seriously ill children as young as four have been let down, with some becoming sicker because of failings by the company.

Patients and medics have complained to Sciensus and to regulators, but little has changed.

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Source: The Guardian, 13 June 2023