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More than 100 private firms will be paid by the NHS to treat patients as a result of the coalition's first major expansion of the private sector's role in the health service.
Department of Health (DH) figures show that 105 healthcare firms have been granted "any qualified provider" status, which allows them to provide basic NHS services including physiotherapy, dermatology, hearing aids, MRI scanning and psychological therapy.
Some private firms, such as InHealth, Specsavers, and Virgin Care have already taken advantage of the controversial extension of competition in the NHS to establish new services. The Department of Health says that 87 providers of different sorts, 38 of which are private and 26 from the NHS, have recently begun treating patients with different conditions under AQP.
But the scale of the private sector's new incursion into the NHS has led senior doctors to voice fears that the health service is being "atomised" and that it will force existing NHS services to close. Private companies, some of which already earn up to ?200m a year each from NHS-funded work, say AQP is a major opportunity to increase their role in the health service.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/06/nhs-services-private-sector-doctors
Department of Health (DH) figures show that 105 healthcare firms have been granted "any qualified provider" status, which allows them to provide basic NHS services including physiotherapy, dermatology, hearing aids, MRI scanning and psychological therapy.
Some private firms, such as InHealth, Specsavers, and Virgin Care have already taken advantage of the controversial extension of competition in the NHS to establish new services. The Department of Health says that 87 providers of different sorts, 38 of which are private and 26 from the NHS, have recently begun treating patients with different conditions under AQP.
But the scale of the private sector's new incursion into the NHS has led senior doctors to voice fears that the health service is being "atomised" and that it will force existing NHS services to close. Private companies, some of which already earn up to ?200m a year each from NHS-funded work, say AQP is a major opportunity to increase their role in the health service.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/06/nhs-services-private-sector-doctors