NHS data would seem to suggest that profit is being prioritised over services to patients.
Information indicates that there has been a surge in income from private patients over the past five years, and that this has correlated strongly with a general slump in standards.
The aggregate income from private patients jumped by over £100 million in the last five years; a rise of nearly 50% in this decade alone.
This information was acquired from a written parliamentary response by the Health... Readmore
NHS providers and the Department of Health are set for major clashes over stringent financial targets, which could ultimately result in significant disciplinary action.
As the department moves to enforce financial conditions over the health service as a whole, numerous hospital board could ultimately be suspended over plans for rebellion.
Hospitals and other NHS services were told last month they would have to eliminate soaring budget deficits by the end of the next financial year.
And the Department... Readmore
The NHS has fast-tracked a drug with the intention of addressing the debilitating condition of the prostate cancer.
Clinical trials indicate that docetaxel can extend the life of men are suffering with this aggressive form of cancer by more than 12 months.
Following the decision by the NHS, it is now possible for clinicians throughout the health service to prescribe this medicine immediately.
Prostate is the most common cancer in men in the UK, affecting one in eight at some point in their lives.
Over... Readmore
One of the most important private sector healthcare companies in the UK pays absolutely no corporate tax in the country, despite receiving hundreds of millions of pounds of income.
The Independent newspaper carried out a study of GE (General Electric) Healthcare, and found that it has received more money back in tax benefits over the past 12 years than it has paid into the system.
This is not the first time that General Electric has been accused of effectively making a profit out of taxation.
In... Readmore
New restrictions have been put in place to prevent locum agencies from unfairly profiting from temporary staff.
Newspaper investigations have found that locum firms, which supply temporary doctors and nurses, can profit from pocketing the sums paid by the health service.
Recent research has also indicated that NHS trusts across the country spend vast amounts on temporary staff, without fully understanding the cut taken by so-called locum agencies.
Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS Improvement,... Readmore
The first NHS hospital to be run privately has hit major financial difficulties, with administrators now considering drastic steps in order to safeguard its future.
Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Stamford NHS Trust have agreed to a review of "organisational form".
The cash-strapped institution is faced with the prospect of merging with the NHS trust in an attempt to prevent it from collapsing completely.
But not all observers have praised the potential merger.
Huntingdon... Readmore
Analysis published by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) suggests that the health of children in the UK is hugely dependent on geographical location.
The disparity between the experience and physical well-being of young people is so stark as to be reasonably defined as a ‘postcode lottery’.
This divergence in the health of children is perhaps best summed up by the fact that a child in a reception class in Barking and Dagenham is over 250 per cent more likely to be obese than a child... Readmore
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared the proposed merger between two hospital trusts, following an extensive investigation.
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (ASP) and Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RSC) will form a new organisation should the merger go ahead.
The two trusts previously provided clinical services in Ashford, Chertsey and Guildford.
Mergers in the NHS can be controversial owing to the fact that competition... Readmore
The latest edition of the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) will offer insight to a wide variety of healthcare professionals.
This free event will take place on Tuesday 13 October from 9.45am – 4pm at the Garden Suite, Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
The 2015 edition of this event is particularly noteworthy as it will launch the SME innovation fund, Innovation and Adoption Service and industry gateway.
Professionals involved with the healthcare, along with relevant academics,... Readmore
A membership organisation of private consultant ophthalmologists has today been found guilty of breaching competition law and fined £500,000.
The fine follows a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into anti-competitive information exchange and pricing agreements.
The organisation in question - Consultant Eye Surgeons Partnership (CESP) Limited - admitted to infringing competition law and accepts liability for a number of infringements during the period September 2008 to present,... Readmore
Following lobbying by the British Medical Association (BMA), the European Parliament has voted yes to a recommendation that public healthcare services be excluded from a free-trade agreement.
MEPs have been voting today (8 July) on a report calling for the European Commission to exclude public services — including the NHS — from the scope of TTIP (transatlantic trade and investment partnership).
“We are pleased that the full session of the European Parliament has voted to recommend that... Readmore