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Found 208 results
  1. News Article
    Britain’s health regulator has partly suspended the manufacturing licence of Sciensus, a private company paid millions by the NHS to provide vital medicines, after the death of a cancer patient who was given the wrong dose of chemotherapy. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had taken “immediate” action under regulation 28 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 law “where it appears to the MHRA that in the interests of safety the licence should be suspended”. The MHRA found “significant deficiencies” in standards at Sciensus during an investigation triggered by the death of one patient and the hospitalisation of three others. All four patients were administered “incorrect” doses of an unlicensed version of cabazitaxel, a licensed chemotherapy used to treat prostate cancer, according to people familiar with the matter. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 July 2023
  2. News Article
    More than two-thirds of people who are administering cosmetic surgery injections such as Botox in the UK are not qualified medical doctors, a new study suggests. The study is the first survey of who is providing cosmetic injectable services, including botulinum toxin (Botox) and dermal fillers, in the country. Dr David Zargaran, UCL Plastic Surgery, an author of the study, said: “There are well-documented, yet to-date unaddressed challenges in the UK cosmetic injectables market. “Without knowledge of the professional backgrounds of practitioners, we cannot adequately regulate the industry. “Our research highlights that the majority of practitioners are not doctors and include other healthcare professionals, as well as non-healthcare professionals such as beauticians. “The range of backgrounds opens a broader question relating to competence and consent. Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 July 2023
  3. Content Article
    Private equity takeovers of health services worldwide are associated with worse quality of care and higher costs, according to this study from Borsa et al. In the past decade, private equity firms have increasingly invested in, acquired and consolidated healthcare facilities. Globally, healthcare buyouts have exceeded £157bn since 2021 alone. Despite much speculation, evidence about the impact of this rapidly growing global trend has been lacking. Now a systematic review of private equity healthcare service takeovers across eight countries including the US, UK, Sweden and the Netherlands provides it. Private equity (PE) ownership of healthcare services including hospitals and nursing homes is linked to a harmful effect on cost and quality of care, suggests the review published in the BMJ. The authors of the review, which was led by the University of Chicago, said: “The most unequivocal evidence points to PE being associated with an increase in healthcare costs. Evidence across studies also suggests mixed impacts of PE ownership on healthcare quality, with greater evidence that PE ownership might degrade quality in some capacity rather than improve it.”
  4. Content Article
    The pain and distress of not being able to see an NHS dentist are "totally unacceptable", an inquiry has told the government. A review was launched after a BBC investigation found 9 in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK were not accepting new adult patients. Some people drove hundreds of miles for treatment or even resorted to pulling out their own teeth, the BBC found. The government says it invests more than £3bn a year in dentistry. But a damning report, by the Commons' Health and Social Care Committee, says more needs to be done, and quickly. The House of Commons Committee report with recommendations to government can be viewed at the link below. The Government has two months to respond.
  5. News Article
    The NHS must undergo radical change or it will continue to decline and lose public support, Tony Blair has argued on the service’s 75th anniversary. It must embrace a revolution in technology to reshape its relationship with patients and make much more use of private healthcare providers to cut waiting times, the former Labour prime minister says. The prevalence of chronic health conditions, long waiting times, the NHS’s stretched workforce and tight public finances in the years ahead mean the service must transform how it operates, he said. “The NHS now requires fundamental reform or, eventually, support for it will diminish. As in the 1990s, the NHS must either change or decline,” he writes in the foreword to a new report from his Tony Blair Institute thinktank, which sets out ideas for safeguarding the NHS’s future. He adds: “Change is never easy and requires brave political leadership. If we do not act, the NHS will continue down a path of decline, to the detriment of our people and our economy.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 July 2023
  6. Content Article
    As the NHS is approaching its 75th birthday, this report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change proposes how the NHS needs to transform if it is to survive.
  7. News Article
    An investigation has been launched into BT following the major disruption to 999 call services on Sunday. Emergency services across the country reported 999 calls were failing to connect because of a technical fault. BT, which manages the 999 phone system, apologised for the problems which were resolved by Sunday evening. The communications regulator, Ofcom, will now investigate whether BT failed to comply with its regulatory obligations. In a statement, Ofcom said its rules required BT and other providers to take "all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations as part of any call services offered". While the incident was ongoing Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service warned of a 30-second delay to connect to 999, while Suffolk Police said its system was not working to full capacity. Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 June 2023
  8. News Article
    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. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 June 2023
  9. News Article
    Complaints about non-surgical Brazilian butt lifts and breast enhancements have risen at an “alarming” rate, up from fewer than 5 to 50 in a year, an industry body has revealed. Save Face, a national, government-approved register of accredited non-surgical treatment practitioners, is calling for the procedures to be banned, while the Local Government Association has asked Westminster to take urgent action. Ashton Collins, the director of Save Face, said the organisation had noted an “alarming” increase in complaints about these enhancements, which she said should be banned. Collins said: “No reputable healthcare professional would offer these treatments as they are very high risk. “It’s a new and incredibly dangerous trend which has emerged from social media, a trend people think is a cheaper, risk-free alternative to the surgical counterparts. All the cases reported to us have been carried out by non-healthcare practitioners who have prioritised profits ahead of the safety and wellbeing of their clients. “These treatments are incredibly risky, and we have helped people who have contracted sepsis and have had to undergo surgery to remove the filler. In 2021, we had fewer than five complaints about these treatments. That figure has increased tenfold in the past year alone and we are getting more and more complaints each week.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 June 2023
  10. Content Article
    In February 2023, the government commissioned an independent review to offer recommendations on how to resolve key challenges in conducting commercial clinical trials in the UK and transform the UK commercial clinical trial environment. The review sets out 27 recommendations, including both priority actions to progress in 2023 and longer-term ambitions for UK commercial clinical trials. The review was conducted by Lord James O’Shaughnessy, Senior Partner at consultancy firm Newmarket Strategy, Board Member of Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and former Health Minister, who was appointed as review Chair. During the review, Lord O’Shaughnessy consulted closely with industry and a wide range of stakeholders across the UK clinical trials sector. The government response welcomes all recommendations from the review, in principle, and makes 5 headline commitments backed by £121 million. An implementation update, setting out progress made against these commitments and a comprehensive response to the remaining recommendations, will be published in the autumn.
  11. News Article
    The number of people paying privately for operations and treatments in the UK has risen by more than a third since the pandemic started, the latest figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) show. Last year 272,000 used their own money to pay for treatments, such as knee or eye surgery - up from 199,000 in 2019. The NHS backlog has been blamed for the trend, with some of the treatments costing more than £15,000. But there does appear to have been a shift away from private insurance driven by the cost of living crisis. The numbers treated through that route were just below 550,000 - more than 30,000 fewer than three years ago. Health providers are reporting patients desperate for treatment because of NHS waits are increasingly turning to the private market. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 May 2023
  12. Content Article
    A patient shares her experience of life-changing complications after a hysterectomy she had at a private hospital and the lack of follow up and help she's received since. She highlights the actions she would like to see in place for private hospitals around informed consent, follow up and support after surgery, and accountability. The patient wishes to remain anonymous.
  13. Content Article
    According to a recent report by Growth Plus Reports, the global female pelvic implants market was valued at US$ 232.50 billion in 2022 and is expected to surpass US$ 318.58 billion by 2031. Request the full report and find out more via the link below.
  14. News Article
    The government in England should increase its use of the private sector to tackle the NHS backlog, Labour says. It said as many as 300,000 patients have missed out on treatment since it called for greater use of private clinics in January 2022. And the party said it was unjust that the lack of action meant only those who could afford to pay for treatment themselves were being seen on time. The government said it was delivering by cutting long waits. However, data published by NHS England last week showed key targets to tackle the backlogs in cancer care and routine treatment had been missed. Overall, there are now a record 7.3 million people on a hospital waiting list, which is nearly three million higher than it was before the pandemic started. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 May 2023
  15. News Article
    Patients are being offered powerful drugs and told they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after unreliable online assessments, a BBC investigation has discovered. Three private clinics diagnosed an undercover reporter via video calls. But a more detailed, in-person NHS assessment showed he didn't have the condition. Panorama spoke to dozens of patients and whistleblowers after receiving tip-offs about rushed and poor-quality assessments at some private clinics, including Harley Psychiatrists, ADHD Direct and ADHD 360. The investigation found that: Clinics carried out only limited mental health assessments of patients. Powerful drugs were prescribed for long-term use, without advice on possible serious side effects or proper consideration of patients' medical history. Patients posting negative reviews were threatened with legal action. The NHS is paying for thousands of patients to go to private clinics for assessments. Commenting on Panorama's findings, Dr Mike Smith - an NHS consultant psychiatrist - said he was seriously concerned about the number of people who might "potentially have received an incorrect diagnosis and been started on medications inappropriately". "The scale is massive." Read full story Source: BBC News,
  16. News Article
    The boss of a private healthcare company exposed by the Guardian for putting seriously ill children and adults at risk was warned it was failing patients three years ago. Darryn Gibson, the chief executive of Sciensus, Britain’s biggest medicines courier, was told in November 2020 that patients with bleeding disorders were being left dangerously exposed to internal bleeding with little or no treatment at home as a result of botched, delayed or missed deliveries. Gibson received the written warning from Kate Burt, the chief executive of the Haemophilia Society, a leading health charity, after she had become outraged at how vulnerable patients were being let down. Sciensus blamed IT issues and promised action. However, three years later, patients remain at “very serious” risk of harm because of “recurring” problems with the company, Burt said. “We continue to receive complaints about missing, incomplete or inaccurate deliveries and are very concerned to see the same issues recurring, indicating that far more needs to be done to improve Sciensus’s ordering and delivery systems,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 May 2023
  17. News Article
    Lip fillers have grown increasingly popular but the industry is "like the wild west", experts warn, with many patients left in pain and embarrassed by their appearance. As Harriet Green left a salon after getting an injection to add volume to her lips, she was reassured the excess swelling would go down. But three months later her lips were still so bloated she could not close her mouth properly. The 22-year-old from Acle in Norfolk needed three corrective procedures - costing a total of more than £700 - to get them back to normal. Dr Saba Raja, a GP who runs her own aesthetics clinic in Norwich, says she is increasingly having to correct treatments which have gone wrong, describing the experience as "really distressing". "Every month I'm getting enquires from young girls who have gone to a non-medical practitioner for lip or tear trough fillers under the eye and had complications. "They often try to contact the practitioner but due to lack of training they are unable to deal with the complications. It is becoming more and more of a problem." Dr Raja describes the industry as "like the wild west", with people injecting patients "out of the back of their cars" and in kitchens. "Anti-wrinkle injections (Botox) are prescription-only but the injector can be anybody who has been on a day course. Dermal filler (for the lips and face) is not even a prescription-only medication, you can buy it off any website," she says. "A lot of non-medical practitioners are buying cheap filler online, with no idea where it has come from. We really need strict regulations and minimum training standards." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 May 2023
  18. News Article
    The watchdog responsible for investigating unresolved healthcare complaints has been warned repeatedly for nine months about problems with Sciensus, a private company paid millions to deliver vital medicines to NHS patients, the Guardian can reveal. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has received 18 official requests to examine grievances against Sciensus since August last year, but has not begun any investigations, according to a person familiar with the matter. The revelation comes after a Guardian investigation exposed serious and significant concerns raised by patients, clinicians and health groups about Sciensus. The investigation revealed that the company has struggled to provide a safe or reliable service. Patients persistently complain about delayed or missed home deliveries of medication, the Guardian found, with clinicians warning that the health of some has deteriorated as a result. The investigation also uncovered how some NHS staff experience “daily issues” with Sciensus. Others reported an increase in patients “flaring” as a result of missed or delayed medication. Some have seen a rise in hospital admissions. In the wake of the investigation, the Care Quality Commission, the care regulator, said it was “aware of concerns raised” about Sciensus, and was reviewing them. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 1 May 2023
  19. News Article
    Two former senior managers at a large mental healthcare provider have told the BBC they had concerns about the safety of patients and staff. The whistleblowers claim they felt pressure to cut costs and fill beds. The Priory Group, which receives more than £600m of public money each year, is the biggest single private provider of mental health services to the NHS. The company denies the claims and says it successfully treats tens of thousands of patients each year. It adds its services "remain amongst the safest in the UK". The former members of the Priory Group's senior management said that, when they were working for the company, they found it difficult to recruit or retain staff, due to poor pay and conditions. They believe this resulted in patients being placed on wards that did not have staff equipped with the right skills to handle their conditions. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 April 2023
  20. News Article
    Nine in 10 beauty clinics are breaking the law by advertising Botox, new research reveals, sparking fresh concern that Britain’s booming £3.6bn cosmetic treatments industry is like the “wild west”. Academics at University College London (UCL) found 88% clinics in London are flouting regulations intended to protect public health banning the advertising of Botox and other forms of botulinum toxin. The disclosure prompted warnings the illegal advertisements could help persuade vulnerable people to undergo injections that could leave them feeling traumatised. Promotion of the anti-ageing substance is illegal because it is a prescription-only medicine, which cannot be advertised under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. A group of beauty professionals who are seeking to rid the industry of its reputation for dubious practices said the findings showed consumers were being subjected to “a tsunami of untamed and unrestricted promotional activity that presents a threat to public protection and patient safety”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 April 2023
  21. News Article
    The independent sector should be commissioned to provide more NHS outpatient appointments, rather than just be focused on cutting cataract waiting lists, the president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has said. A “workforce census” survey carried out by the college and shared with HSJ found almost 60% of respondents believed independent providers were having a “negative impact” on care and ophthalmology services in their area. Speaking about its findings to HSJ, RCOphth president Bernie Chang said Covid had exacerbated problems caused by use of independent sector providers. These problems included cases being passed back to the NHS when IS care failed, and the NHS being left with a greater concentration of more serious, and costly, cases as the IS focussed on routine cataract operations. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 April 2023
  22. Content Article
    If you are considering 'going private' for the first time, it can be confusing and overwhelming. Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) has created some short videos to guide you through your private healthcare journey and demonstrate how the PHIN website and search function can help you. These videos for patients clarify some essential healthcare terms and shows how you can use PHIN's website to make informed decisions when considering private medical treatment.  Have a watch, or if you prefer to read the information instead, PHIN has also included the text from each video below it. PHIN is an independent, government-mandated organisation publishing performance and fees information about private consultants and hospitals.
  23. Content Article
    In the US, patients receiving cancer treatment via Medicare or Medicaid—two federal health insurance programmes—can face barriers to accessing treatment when insurers use the Prior Authorization Process to deny access. In this letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) outlines its concerns that prior authorizations are acting as "roadblocks to Americans with cancer getting the optimal treatment on a timely basis." Referring to proposed rule changes that aim to reduce the burden that prior authorization processes place on providers, the COA calls for the inclusion of medications to ensure that American's with cancer are not denied the treatment they need.
  24. News Article
    The drug giant behind weight loss injections newly approved for NHS use spent millions in just three years on an “orchestrated PR campaign” to boost its UK influence. As part of its strategy, Novo Nordisk paid £21.7m to health organisations and professionals who in some cases went on to praise the treatment without always making clear their links to the firm, an Observer investigation has found. Among the vocal champions of the Wegovy jabs was a clinical expert who gave evidence to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and others who publicly praised the so-called “skinny jabs” as a “gamechanger”. The revelations come as the Danish drug giant is investigated by the UK’s pharmaceutical watchdog after it was found to have breached the industry code seven times in relation to a “disguised promotional campaign” of another of its weight loss drugs via online webinars for healthcare professionals. Prof Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle University, said Novo’s campaign was “not unusual” in the drugs industry and called for measures to improve trust. “The public really aren’t being made aware enough about the potential for bias and over-claiming,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 March 2023
  25. News Article
    Demand for private GPs has soared as patients seek out face-to-face appointments with doctors at short notice. Spire Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest private healthcare providers, saw 32,000 GP appointments booked with it last year – up from 23,000 in 2021. The hospital company, which runs 125 GPs, said revenues from its private doctor appointments rose by 46% in 2022. It said demand was soaring as patients look for “fast access to longer face-to-face appointments with a GP”. On the surge in demand, Spire Healthcare boss Justin Ash told The Telegraph: “Clearly there is a well known problem of GPs being under pressure, the 8am scramble [for appointments] is a thing. People want to be able to book online and they want to be able to book at short notice.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 March 2023
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