Private sector

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News

NHS managers to go head-to-head with private sector to provide GP commissioning support

27 Aug 10

NHS bosses are preparing to pitch themselves into competition with the private sector to offer support to GP commissioning consortia by re-inventing themselves as social enterprises, in moves backed by GP leaders.

Darzi centre facing closure 'cheaper than neighbouring practices'

17 Aug 10

GPs at the first Darzi centre in England to face closure by a cash-strapped PCT have vowed to fight to stay open - insisting they provide a cheaper service than neighbouring GP practices.

Private providers 'should be paid less for less complex work'

12 Aug 10

Independent sector treatment centres should be paid less to reflect the fact they treat less complex patients than NHS providers, according to leading health economists.

Revealed: The 30-year contract with Care UK that GP commissioners will have to honour

06 Aug 10

NHS managers have saddled GP commissioners with a 30-year contract with a private firm after controversially paying it more than £8m for a building it owned - and then leasing it straight back.

Local council fights GPs' corner in contract row with PCT

30 Jul 10
Private practices and Darzi centres set for central role in GP consortiums

26 Jul 10
McKinsey: GPs 'must close hospitals to save cash'

23 Jul 10
Private sector services to benefit under Government plans

23 Jul 10
Government urged to show some 'cojones' and ramp up NHS private provision

23 Jul 10
White Paper could 'force all GPs onto short-term APMS-style contracts'

19 Jul 10

more finance and practice news

Comment and Analysis

Hold the schadenfreude - the first Darzi centre closure could be bad news for ordinary GPs

18 Aug 10

If the first closure of a Darzi centre goes ahead, many GPs will celebrate, writes PulseToday editor Steve Nowottny. But there may be a catch…

NHS tourists welcome here

15 Jun 10

Copperfield has heard Darzi centres just want patients, and they don’t care how they get them

Interview: Mark Simmonds MP

07 Apr 10

Shadow health minister Mark Simmonds tells Pulse why private providers are not a bad thing in the NHS and details the Conservative's plans for out-of-hours care and the QOF.