Radiology delays due to privatisation
Almost every radiology department in the UK now outsources some of its workload, largely to cover gaps in rotas caused by a national 30% shortfall in clinical radiologists. While this approach eases short-term pressures, the Royal College of Radiologists warns it is failing to fix the root cause and is becoming financially unsustainable.

MPs donations from private healthcare
We should be able to trust MPs to make decisions which are best for the public, not for wealthy donors and corporations. The NHS belongs to everyone, and it was created to provide healthcare based on medical need, not ability to pay. If those linked to private healthcare gain influence over our politicians through donations, it puts this fundamental principle at risk.

Physician associates to be renamed
Physician associates have been implicated in several high-profile patient deaths. To stop them being mistaken for real doctors they will be renamed - but will it? 

Where's the staffing coming from?
The government plans the creation of 40 extra same-day emergency care units and urgent treatment centres. Fine, but will this work and does the staffing deplete exisitng services? 

Just a sticking plaster?
The NHS is set to receive a £30bn funding boost in the 11th June spending review, but is it enough to significantly improve services?

NHSE: "Slow down elective referrals"
To massage the waiting lists totals down, NHS England has told integrated care boards they need to slow down elective referrals dramatically. This is referred to as "elective care management".

Labour and the NHS
An article by Keep Our NHS Public says "The failure to acknowledge that the huge and growing waiting lists, together with difficulty accessing care, causally relate to underfunding is a major worry for campaigners. So too is the expectation that the private sector is there to help out."

Government dropped health push after lobbying
The healthy food push was dropped on 1 June 2023 under Rishi Sunak’s government, after the Food and Drink Federation, which represents corporations including Nestlé, Mondelēz, Coca-Cola, Mars and Unilever repeatedly demanded the government ditch it.

Streeting appoints ex boss of privatiser
Samantha Jones has become Private Secretary at the DHSC, almost the highest civil service rank, to run the department for Streeting. She was previously senior advisor to Boris Johnson.

UK the sickest of developed world
The UK is becoming “the sick person of the wealthy world” because of the growing number of people dying from drugs, suicide and violence, research has found.

"Wrecking ball to improving maternity safety"
The Royal College of Midwives has described the Government's decision to slash crucial ringfenced maternity service funding as ‘utterly shocking’.

Hospitals reject Palantir's data platform
Fewer than a quarter of England’s 215 hospital trusts were actively using Palantir’s Federated Data Platform by the end of 2024.

£216 million to private X-ray firms
The government prefers to give £216 million of our taxes to private firms rather than recruit enough radiologists.

Mackey: "No more big NHS spending rises"
The chief executive of NHS England said the budget is "maxed out". However in 2022, nine of the EU14 countries spent more on health care per head than the UK and six invested over 20% more. A 17.4% rise in spending would put the UK almost on a par with what Denmark spent on health care in 2022, and still short of current levels of investment in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

Private providers 3 times more expensive
Northamptonshire ICB found the use of independent providers under “right to choose” rules for diagnosis and treatment of autism and ADHD was up to three times more expensive than their local provision.

Outsourcing 'fuels inequality and longer waits'
The expansion of private providers into NHS-funded care has reduced surgical admissions at NHS hospitals and is associated with rising waiting times for all patients. The poorest 20% of patients were significantly less likely to be treated in the private sector and faced longer waiting times than the richest 20%.

Not enough GP training posts
We often hear that there are “ongoing difficulties in recruiting enough GPs” but currently, the crisis is not in recruitment but frozen recruitment. Thousands of doctors who applied to train as GPs are rejected each year due to lack of training posts. The shortage of GPs is entirely within the government’s control, bound by funding.

Hospitals paid to remove patients from waiting
Hospitals in England are being offered unlimited bonus payments to remove people they have decided do not need treatment from their waiting lists.