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Found 207 results
  1. Content Article
    Dr Nick Woodier, HSIB National Investigator, reflects on the challenges associated with joint surgical care of patients and shares learning that can aid the NHS and the private sector as new national agreements come into force.
  2. Content Article
    Since February 2020, the elective waiting list has grown by 61% from 4.57 million to 7.47 million. The delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care set out the system-wide response to reducing this backlog.
  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. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. News Article
    Scotland's dental leaders say the backlog for patients getting NHS treatment is "enormous". Official data shows people in more affluent areas of Scotland were much more likely to be seen by a dentist in the last two years compared to poorer communities. Meanwhile, patients on long waiting lists are resorting to costly private treatment in order to be seen sooner. The Scottish government said it was committed to tackling the pandemic-related backlog in routine dental care. The shutdown of dental services in the early days of Covid, and then severe restrictions on working practices meant emergency care was prioritised in Scotland. Denise Hesketh is one of thousands of Scots who couldn't see a dentist during the start of the pandemic. The 58-year-old from Edinburgh has battled dental problems for years, but being unable to see a dentist during Covid meant her oral health has taken a turn for the worse. She told BBC Scotland: "It was over a year before I was able to see a dentist and by then it just got too bad. Everything was unstable. It needn't have happened - it could have been repaired." She now faces a bill of £20,000 for private care, with her NHS dentist unable to offer any help. Some patients have raised fears that those who pay for private dental treatment are being prioritised. BBC Scotland has seen an email to patients from one practice in Lanarkshire. It states "Due to NHS restrictions and waiting lists on routine care… there are other options for check-ups for adults and children to pay privately". Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 February 2022
  10. News Article
    Healthcare leaders have been warned by nearly 200 doctors that plans to give more work to private hospitals will “drain” money and staff away from NHS services, leaving the most ill patients at risk. In a letter, seen by The Independent, almost 200 ophthalmologists urged NHS leaders to rethink plans to contact cataract services to private sector hospitals as it “drains money away from patient care into private pockets as well as poaching staff trained in the NHS.” The doctors have called for “urgent action” to stop a new contract from being released which would allow private sector hospitals to take over more cataract services. They raised concerns NHS ophthalmology services would fall into the same crisis at NHS dentistry which would have “blinding consequences” for patients. One of the lead authors of the letter told The Independent the plans would mean there are not enough NHS staff available to carry out more complex surgeries where patients are at risk of losing their eyesight. Read full story Source: The Independent, 10 February 2022
  11. News Article
    There are serious concerns over the standards of specialist care being provided to patients with the most complex mental health needs, a BBC investigation has found. Patients sent by the NHS to stay in mental health rehabilitation units say they have been placed in unsafe environments, often far from home, with untrained staff. Experts say not enough is being done to regulate the sector, which costs the NHS half a billion pounds a year. Lissa had spent years struggling with her mental health, having experienced traumatic life events. She was diagnosed with mixed personality disorder, depression and high-functioning Asperger's. So when the NHS sent her to a unit in Coventry run by Cygnet Health Care for a specialist talking therapy, she agreed. The hospital, however, was in special measures. There had been two deaths in the previous 20 months. In both cases there was found to be a failure to follow the patient's care plan and carry out observations correctly. Lissa says staff failed to treat her with dignity and respect. The system in England is regulated by the Care Quality Commission, (CQC). Some rehabilitation wards haven't been inspected for four or more years. John Chacksfield, who was a CQC inspector until late 2020, says greater scrutiny is needed. "Sometimes the private sector provides really excellent service, but there are certain units that really do need regular inspections just to make sure staff are being trained enough, or are having enough clinical supervision. It does worry me," he says. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 January 2022
  12. News Article
    A loophole in the law is leaving vulnerable patients at risk of abuse and sexual assault by unregulated private ambulance staff, The Independent has revealed. While many private ambulance providers are regulated, a small number, such as those providing services at events, those providing first aid, and those who are subcontracted, fall outside the reach of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This is due to a loophole in the legislation, which means that organisations providing healthcare at events are not required to be CQC registered. The Independent has learned that around 10,000 patients a day are seen by ambulance workers who are unregulated and not part of any registered professional body. Alan Howson, chief executive of the Independent Ambulance Association, said he was concerned about healthcare providers that “operate outside of the scope” of the care watchdog and in “plain sight and unchecked”, leaving patients at risk from staff who might “seek to misuse their power”. His concerns were in response to an internal report by the CQC, completed last year, which identified specific risks around sexual harm in relation to private providers, as well as “inconsistency” in providers’ recording of incidents. Read full story Source: The Independent, 14 November 2021
  13. News Article
    The NHS and private hospitals need to improve how they work together after the death of an NHS patient treated privately during the pandemic, a watchdog has warned. An investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) found some private hospitals took on more complex patients than they were used to, while problems with communication and confusion over responsibilities created safety risks. It has called on the Care Quality Commission to do more to inspect how the two sectors work together and how patients are transferred between hospitals safely. It launched an inquiry after the death of a patient, known as Rodney, aged 58, who was due to have keyhole surgery to remove part of his bowel due to cancer. His NHS operation was cancelled and rebooked at a nearby private hospital after cancer services were transferred to the independent hospital due to COVID-19. Rodney was asked to sign a consent form for open bowel surgery, rather than the less invasive keyhole procedure, due to guidance at the time around a "potentially increased risk of COVID-19 transmission with laparoscopic surgery", the HSIB said. The cancerous part of his bowel was removed but eight days later his condition he deteriorated rapidly and was transferred to the local hospital so he could receive intensive care - which was not available at the private hospital. When he arrived at the NHS hospital, a scan and more surgery showed a leak in his bowel which led to sepsis and organ failure. He died later that day. As a result of the case, the HSIB launched a wider investigation into NHS surgical services being carried out in independent hospitals. Read full story Source: The Independent, 28 October 2021
  14. News Article
    A patients' group says it is concerned over a lack of access to NHS dentists in South Gloucestershire after two surgeries turned private. Frampton and Flaxpits surgeries say NHS targets can not be reached without putting patients and staff at risk. and they must go private to survive. Vicky Marriott, of Healthwatch, an independent statutory body representing patients, said not having an option to have NHS care was a "real concern". In a letter to patients, Dr Dimitri Haddjeri, dentist at Framptom and Flaxpits surgeries, said "target-driven, high-volume dentistry" was "not fit for purpose" and did not put the patient first. He said NHS targets could not be reached without putting patients and staff at risk. Ms Marriott said there were "enormous problems" for people trying to find NHS care across South Gloucestershire, Bristol and North Somerset. "Between July and September this year, in Bristol alone, we've had 73 people contact us saying that they've been emailing or phoning every single dental practice to see if they can get treatment and haven't been able to," she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 October 2021
  15. News Article
    Cancer surgery in London is under threat as rising covid admissions put pressure on services that no longer have back-up capacity from the independent sector, HSJ has learned. Research by HSJ has discovered that NHS England ended contracts with HCA, The London Clinic and the Cromwell Hospital at the end of August, after concerns about underutilisation. Under the previous deal with the private sector, rules were in place to make sure low-priority private patients were not treated ahead of NHS patients who needed surgery urgently. HCA and The Cromwell have confirmed the contracts were ended in August and were not renewed. The London Clinic did not respond to a request for comment. As of 19 December, there were 2,909 covid inpatients being treated in London hospitals, a rise of 39% over the previous seven days. Barts Health Trust and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Trust in the east of the city are under particular pressure. Should the number of covid patients reach a level that requires the capital to instigate surge protocols, theatre space set aside for cancer operations is likely to be commandeered. Under this scenario, the NHS in the capital would no longer have the option to transfer cancer patients to private facilities as it did during the first wave of the pandemic. A senior London-based source said: “This is a real and imminent threat to London’s ability to perform cancer surgery." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 21 December 2020
  16. News Article
    BBC News investigation has uncovered failures in the diagnosis of serious medical issues during private baby scans. More than 200 studios across the UK now sell ultrasound scans, with hundreds of thousands being carried out each year. But the BBC has found evidence of women not being told about serious conditions and abnormalities. The Care Quality Commission says there is good quality care in the industry but it has a "growing concern". Private baby scanning studios offer a variety of services. Some diagnose medical issues while others market themselves as providers of souvenir images or video of the ultrasound. Most sell packages providing a "reassurance scan" to expectant mums. Many women BBC News spoke to said they had positive experiences at private studios, but we have also learned of instances where women said they were failed. Charlotte, from Manchester, attended a scan in Salford with one of the biggest franchises, Window to the Womb, to record her baby's sex for a party and check its wellbeing. BBC News has learned the sonographer identified a serious abnormality that meant the baby could not survive, where part or all of its head is missing, called anencephaly. But rather than refer her immediately to hospital and provide a medical report, Charlotte was told the baby's head could not be fully seen and recommended to book an NHS anomaly scan. She was also given a gender reveal cannon and a teddy bear containing a recording of its heartbeat as a present for her daughter. "I was distraught," Charlotte said. "You've bonded with that baby." "It's like a deep cut feeling," she added. "All of it could have just been avoided, we could have processed the news all together as a family because I was with my mum and dad, I would have had the support there." Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 November 2020
  17. News Article
    A privately run child and adolescent mental health unit has been closed permanently, with its residents moved elsewhere, after concerns were raised about their safety. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it had taken “urgent action to ensure the provider makes immediate and significant improvements” at the Cygnet Hospital in Godden Green, outside Sevenoaks in Kent, after a series of unannounced inspections last month and this month. The hospital had a CAMHs unit with up to 23 beds – details of which have been removed from the company’s website. However, only a small number of beds were occupied and these patients were either discharged or transferred to other hospitals before the unit closed on Monday. Last year Cygnet Health Care also launched a 12 bed female psychiatric intensive care unit on the site. Some of these beds have been commissioned by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust since early this year, as there are no NHS female PICU sites in the county. This unit remains open, although the CQC said the concerns raised with it related to the safety of both PICU and CAMHs patients. Karen Bennett-Wilson, the CQC’s head of hospital inspection and lead for mental health in the south, said: “CQC has also worked closely with NHSE/I, Cygnet Healthcare and other local partners who have taken the decision to close the CAMHS unit and move the young people in the service to other care appropriate to their needs." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 October 2020
  18. News Article
    Concerns are growing that long NHS waiting times caused by the coronavirus crisis are exacerbating pre-existing health inequalities and creating a “two-tier” system, as more people turn to the private sector for quicker treatment. As leading doctors warn mass cancellations of NHS operations in England are inevitable this winter after waiting times reached the highest levels on record this summer, data shows a rise in the number of people self-funding treatment or investing in private health insurance. “COVID-19 has not impacted everyone equally, and there is clearly a risk that the backlog in routine hospital treatment is going to add to those inequalities if some people are able to get treatment faster because they’re able to pay,” said Tim Gardner, from the Health Foundation thinktank. As the NHS heads into winter and a growing second wave of the virus, experts stressed the need to help those affected by the backlog now. “There is a need to prioritise the most urgent cases, but simply because someone’s case isn’t urgent doesn’t mean it’s not important. It doesn’t mean that people aren’t waiting in pain and discomfort, or waiting anxiously for a diagnosis,” said Gardner. “We think it’s incumbent on the health service to make the best possible use of the capacity it’s got. But also it needs to make sure it’s supporting people while they’re waiting. We just can’t have people left in limbo.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 October 2020
  19. News Article
    The care model run by independent sector mental health and learning disability hospitals is ‘inherently risky’, a Care Quality Commission (CQC) chief inspector has warned. Speaking at the NHS Providers conference, Ted Baker, chief inspector of hospitals for the Care Quality Commission, unveiled the regulator’s plans to change how it inspects health and care services. When asked by HSJ how its new “streamlined” approach would be applied to inpatient units run by the independent sector for people with mental health and learning disability, Professor Baker said: ”One of the things we’ve been doing during the pandemic, and will continue in our transitional approach, is target risk. And one of the risks we have been targeting is exactly this, patients with learning disability and/or autism in some of these small units that have got closed cultures." “I think we do recognise that model of care is an inherently risky model of care and so we have been inspecting many of those under this risk driven model and taking action against many of them. But there is ongoing concern about that model of care and in a few weeks’ time we will be publishing a report on our assessment of that model of care and the importance of it being changed for the benefit of the people being looked after. The model of care needs to be improved but we need to make sure we are tackling the risk.” The chief’s comments come ahead of the regulator’s state of care report, which is due to be published next week. In its report published last year the CQC highlighted a concern regarding the quality and safety of independent learning disability and autism units. In particular it warned these were at a higher risk of developing closed cultures. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 7 October 2020)
  20. News Article
    At least 18 serious cases are being investigated by NHS bosses after GP and dermatology services were stripped from private medical company. The Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) confirmed on Monday an independent review was taking place. It will see if delays to treatment for thousands of patients using DMC Healthcare services "caused harm". The NHS removed contracts worth £4.1m a year from the private firm in July. DMC was responsible for nearly 60,000 patients at nine surgeries in Medway, and skin condition services in other parts of Kent, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. In north Kent, there were 1,855 patients needing urgent treatment and a further 7,500 on the dermatology service waiting list. Of those, 700 had been waiting more than a year. Nikki Teesdale, from Kent and Medway's CCG, said it was "too early" to reach definitive conclusions around the 18 serious cases. Speaking to Kent and Medway's joint health scrutiny committee on Monday she said of the 18, five had been waiting "significant periods of time" for cancer services. "Until we have got those patients through those treatment programmes, we are not able to determine what the level of harm has been," she added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 September 2020
  21. News Article
    A UK oncologist with a world reputation is facing allegations by the General Medical Council that he provided medication inappropriately in an attempt to keep terminally ill patients alive. Justin Stebbing, professor of cancer medicine and oncology at Imperial College London, who has a private practice in Harley Street, faces allegations at a medical practitioners tribunal of failing to provide good clinical care to 11 patients between March 2014 and March 2017. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 15 September 2020
  22. News Article
    Patients have come to avoidable harm after a large private provider failed to deliver thousands of medicine prescriptions, according to a report from the Care Quality Commission. Healthcare at Home, which is based in Staffordshire but provides NHS-funded care and medicine supplies to patients’ homes across the country, has been rated “inadequate” and placed in special measures. A report published today said inspectors found more than 10,000 patients missed a dose of their medicine between October and December 2020 due to problems caused by the introduction of a new information system. Reviews have found some suffered avoidable harm as a result. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 13 May 2021
  23. News Article
    A private healthcare provider has been ordered to pay £20,000 after failing to disclose errors in the treatment of patients under the care of a surgeon. Spire Healthcare was prosecuted today in what the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said was “the first prosecution of its kind against an independent provider of healthcare”. The CQC said concerns around the treatment of four patients were initially raised by Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group, several physiotherapists at the hospital and another surgeon. The patients had surgical procedures carried out by Michael Walsh, a shoulder surgeon who held practising privileges at Spire Leeds until his suspension in April 2018. The procedures resulted in the patients suffering prolonged pain and requiring further remedial surgery. The CQC said it brought the prosecution after Spire failed to share details of what happened to the patients who were being treated by Mr Walsh, in line with their duty of candour responsibilities to be transparent and provide timely apologies when serious incidents occur. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 29 April 2021
  24. News Article
    Nearly 30 patients suffered severe or moderate harm due to quality issues with ultrasounds carried out by an independent provider, a review has found. Scans of 1,800 patients carried out by two sonographers employed by Bestcare Diagnostics were examined as part of a clinical harm review initiated by Coastal West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group in 2019. Papers for next week’s governing body meeting of West Sussex CCG — which has absorbed Coastal West Sussex CCG — reveal the review found 29 cases of severe or moderate harm. According to the NHS’ National Recording and Learning System, moderate harm is that where a patient needs further treatment or procedures but the harm is short-term. Severe harm results in permanent or long-term harm. Both require NHS bodies to exercise the duty of candour. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 April 2021
  25. News Article
    Following the statement from Nadine Dorries MP, Minister for Patient Safety, providing an update on the Paterson Inquiry, Matt James, Chief Executive of the Private Healthcare Information Network, said: “Although we were expecting the Government’s full response by now, it’s reassuring to know that this is still firmly on the agenda. The updates provided today are all welcome, but perhaps most telling is what remains to be addressed – most notably whole-practice information and better information for patients (recommendations one and three). “While it’s disappointing not to see more specifics, it is crucial that the recommendations are implemented properly and with the right consideration, resisting the temptation to create new systems from scratch and instead build on the excellent progress made by organisations such as NHS Digital, GIRFT, NCIP and PHIN. “We will continue to work with our partners across the NHS and private sector to make positive changes which improve transparency, accountability and information for patients. We will continue to liaise with the Department of Health and Social Care when invited to do so.” Press release Source: PHIN, 23 March 2021
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