4th May 2022

Health and Care Bill: Why it matters
Despite the concerns of many NHS staff, official bodies and health campaigners, the Health and Care Bill became an act of parliament on 28th April. So why the Health and Care Act is a threat? Because possible denial of emergency care, a worsening of the staffing crisis and increased privatisation. Read more here.

Ambulance waits: 40,000 put at risk
This article is behind a paywall. In essence the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives has estimated that more than 38,000 patients were put at risk of harm during March – more than 4,000 of them seriously – while they waited in an ambulance outside hospital.

£2 billion a year on private mental health beds
The NHS’s increasing reliance on independent care providers comes despite some health service bosses’ concerns that there are persistent and sometimes fatal problems with the quality and safety of care at private mental health units. Here’s one view on unsafe private mental health provision.

PPE scandal: Tory peer’s home raided
PPE Medpro was awarded two government contracts worth £203 million. Tory peer Michelle Mone appears to have been instrumental in PPE Medpro being entered into the “high priority” VIP lane in May 2020. Her home and the offices of PPE Medpro were searched by police.