28th February 2022

400 staff a week are quitting the NHS
A record number of more than 400 workers in England have left NHS every week; reasons cited are burn out and post traumatic stress disorder. There are now concerns that the exodus is impacting the quality of care.

No requirement for ICB to give emergency care
The NHS Bill does not require an Integrated Care Board (ICB) to provide emergency care for everybody in its area. This will mean more bureaucracy and potential arguments as ICBs bill each other for people who are visitors and who require A&E care.

Centene GP take over: it’s not unlawful
The High Courts did not rule that the decision by North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group to allow Operose Health (Centene by another name) take over the London GP chain ATMedics Ltd. was unlawful. Patients have demonstrated outside their surgeries; they do not want their practice taken over by an American corporation.

NHS contract removed from PCR rules
The Public Contracts Regulations of 2015 (PCR 2015) ensure that environmental, social, and labour legislation is taken into consideration when public contracts are arranged. The NHS Bill permits PCR2015 to be excluded in commissioning NHS contracting arrangements. A government consultation on this subject is linked here.

Covid contracts: Serco’s profits surge
The so-called “NHS” test and trace system – actually entirely run by private companies – was described by the National Accounts Committee as failed despite its “eye watering’ budget of £37,000 million of our money. Serco benefited through a £623 million contract to manage Covid testing sites and operating contact-tracing call centres. Now we hear that Serco has paid out £100 million to its shareholders.