News

Private firm is first to commission services for a PCT

11-Jul-08

A private firm has taken control of commissioning healthcare on behalf of a PCT for the first time under a DoH commissioning support programme.

Over the next three years, UnitedHealth UK will be employed by Northamptonshire tPCT to assess the needs of local people and commission health services.

In October 2007, the government announced its Framework for Procuring External Support for Commissioners (FESC) which identified 14 companies, including UnitedHealth, which PCTs could use to improve commissioning.

UnitedHealth UK is a division of the global company that runs a small number of practices in the UK and health insurance in the US.

The company is banned from bidding to provide services in Northamptonshire to avoid a conflict of interest, a spokesman for Northamptonshire tPCT said.

tom.ireland@haymarket.com

Comment below and tell us what you think

Comments

Lindy Williams

11/07/2008

Well what a surprise.

C W Spencer

11/07/2008

The only way that this can succeed is if doctors work for less or if clinicians of other professions or auxiliaries of various types largely replace them. The differential monies will go to the directors and shareholders who will have private medicine or the best of the remaining NHS. Techniques of fending off work will evolve and creaming off will occur leaving the fewer and fewer regular GPs to care for the uneconomical chronic sick till they too become chronically sick. It will take about ten to fifteen years for this privatisation to take place. This will be good for Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland. Really good traditional GP's will be competing to work there in the last bastions of true General Practice.

peter gray

11/07/2008

i unfortunately thought this could be one of labour's eventual targets for change when discussed as a possibility approx 2 years ago and now without any medical evidence or research has become a reality-it happened to tax,education and health in the past.peter gray.

Rupen Kulkarni

11/07/2008

There is but one agenda. Privatize,Privatize and Privatize. Whoever thought Tora, Tora, Tora happened only in Japanese. This Govt. is involved in a humungus destruction of a world-class General Practice, replacing it with an emotionless business to help its fat-cat cronies make more money.

cynic

13/07/2008

Well, Well WHAT DID YOU EXP|ECT?

Beleive the politician at your risk.They are quick to look after themselves with inflation related rises in pay, additional perks to attend parlioment when in the first place that was what they got themselves elected for etc etc whilst the poor public are too complacent to even object to to going ons of parliment that the work of few of us in objecting to the changes are ineffective. Millitant action is the only way forward. A good example is the Birmingham saga everybody is out there to make themselves rich. Who can blame them when the government allows this to happen when they themselves are so corrupt that if you and I were in the same situation that they have been caught out recently including the lat PM Mr Blair we would be in custody immediately.

neil woodnick

31/07/2008

Who says that quasi civil servants are the best people to negotiate millions of £'s worth of healthcare. Darzi has already identified that PCT's do not have sufficiently experienced staff to provide world class commissioning. This is going to be really important in regard to value for money so that the PCT's will have more funds available for new expensive drugs and put an end to the postcode lottery.