Hangin’ on…
‘M.D.’, who is ‘Private Eye’s medical correspondent is
someone I don’t always agree with – I suspect our politics are very different.
What we do have in common is a pretty similar analysis of the problems.
This week in the ‘eye’, he has a go at the new ‘NHS 111’, the
non-emergency call service. For once we are saying much the same things about
it. He deals with Channel Four’s exposure of what goes on at Harmoni, one of
the contractors providing the new service as well as NHS Direct’s withdrawal
from its 11 contracts as it has found them uneconomic.
I’ll quote M.D. directly, I’m sure he won’t
mind;
“Harmoni has a third of the contracts and will probably now
mop up some more. It beat Care UK in the tenders, but Care UK retaliated by
buying Harmoni and then recruiting, as its managing director, Jim Easton, who
was lured from the Department of Health and then NHS England having, er, “overseen
the NHS 111 procurement process”.
I think, given the possibilities of legal action that I won’t
comment further on the ethical position of losing a tender and then buying out
your successful rival, then poaching the person who set up the process, to
manage your organisation which is providing that service to that person’s
previous employer.
I just don’t like it at all.
Meanwhile:
I haven’t forgotten about Professor Berwick’s report on the
NHS – my review of his review is coming up.
Neil Harris
(a don’t stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com
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