NHS Finance

Creating the Cardigan integrated care centre

10.06.19: Peter Skitt, county director and commissioner for Ceredigion Hywel Dda University Health Board, looks ahead to the new integrated care centre being built for the district. This September we will open the doors to our first ever Integrated C...

New government proposals put forward to tackle NHS pension crisis

05.06.19: The government has put forward plans to reform the NHS pension scheme and provide top doctors with more flexibility in response to growing concerns that a “perfect storm” of tax and pension rules are forcing staff to reduce their hou...

Pharmaceutical firms accused of illegally colluding to drive up drug prices, ‘costing the NHS millions’

24.05.19: Four pharmaceutical firms have been accused of illegally colluding to restrict the supply of an anti-nausea tablet, drastically driving up prices by 700%, the competition watchdog has alleged. Between December 2013 and December 2017, the co...

The introduction of state indemnity and the continued importance of MDO membership

22.05.19: Dr Caroline Fryar, head of advisory services at the Medical Defence Union (MDU), explains why medical defence organisation (MDO) membership remains important following the introduction of state indemnity. On 1 April 2019, state indemnity fo...

NHS lost £212m from prescription fraud last year whilst 1.7m people wrongly fined, NAO finds

15.05.19: Around 1.7 million fines have been wrongly handed out to patients and then overturned in the last five years, whilst the NHS also lost £212m last year due to wrongly claimed exemptions, the National Audit Office (NAO) has found. The n...

‘Pink drink’ cancer treatment that helps surgeons spot brain tumours rolled out across NHS

13.05.19: A new innovative brain cancer treatment aid that allows surgeons to identify areas of the brain affected by cancer has been rolled out across the NHS and could save up to 2,000 patients a year. Known as the ‘pink drink’, 5-ALA u...

NHS to offer landmark multiple sclerosis drug after negotiating manufacturer’s price down

09.05.19: NHS England has reached a deal with a drug manufacturer to provide patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with a “landmark” drug after NHS bosses pressured the company to lower its price. Ocrelizumab will be the first available m...

NHSE strikes largest ever deal to ‘completely eliminate’ hepatitis C

03.05.19: NHS England has reached a “first-of-its-kind” deal with three major drug companies that could completely eradicate hepatitis C, weathering a lengthy negotiation process and a legal battle on the way. The procurement deal, said t...

Home care giant Four Seasons goes into administration

30.04.19: One of Britain’s largest care home groups has gone into administration, putting its 17,000 residents and 22,000 jobs at risk. Two of the holding companies behind Four Seasons Health Care have appointed administrators after struggling...

Delayed hospital merger at centre of Bedford mayoral election as candidates desperate to retain NHS services

30.04.19: A delayed merger between two hospital trusts that will save £10m to £14m “needs to happen,” according to a councillor and mayoral candidate ahead of an election race in Bedford. Luton and Dunstable University Hospita...

‘Punitive’ tax and pension rules forcing senior doctors to reduce hours or work part-time, warns BMA

26.04.19: The BMA has warned of a “perfect storm” created by NHS pension and tax rules which are forcing senior doctors to reduce their hours, retire early or leave the NHS. In a letter to the chancellor Philip Hammond, the BMA has warned...

Interserve awarded place on £450m NHS framework until 2022

25.04.19: Troubled contractor Interserve has been awarded a place on the NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) framework for infrastructure and car park management. The framework is available to a range of public sector organisations and will operat...

Private mental health group The Priory fined £300,000 over death of 14-year-old girl

17.04.19: Private mental health group The Priory healthcare group has been fined £300,000 for breaching health and safety laws following the death of 14-year-old Amy El-Keria. El-Keria was treated at Priory Group’s Ticehurst House psychia...

‘Dishonest’ solicitor struck off for overcharging NHS with ‘unreasonable’ clinical negligence bills

15.04.19: A “dishonest” solicitor who overcharged the NHS whilst pursuing clinical negligence cases has been struck off after the High Court judged he had showed a “serious lack of integrity.” Andrew Good, who founded the Hull...

Woman jailed after trying to defraud the NHS for more than £2m

09.04.19: A woman who tried to sue the NHS for £2.3m in compensation for a botched surgery which she claimed left her in constant pain has been jailed. Lesley Maria Elder from Dorset said the severe pain following a vaginal mesh operation had r...