Private Sector Involvement Sources to 2006

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This is the archive to 2006.  For later material see

Private Sector Involvement/Sources

• In an address given to an aptly awful audience of venture capitalists a few months ago, Tony Blair adopted the modish confessional style and told the world that his struggle to manage the public sector had left 'scars on my back'. The National Health Service was not a home for the many under-resourced and over-worked people who run the most efficient medical service in the developed world, but a swamp of vested interests. Nurses, doctors and cleaners were the élite forces of conservatism. The Prime Minister was their proletarian victim. Observer 13 August 2000.
• There are management consultants in the US who advise the owners of nursing and residential homes on how they can make their residents more dependent. In that great free market, the entrepreneurs who run old people's homes know that they will make more money from people who have greater physical needs and who are too frail to shop around for help elsewhere. The Alzheimer's Society is concerned that a similar sit uation could develop here. The Government's plans to refocus the funding of long-term care will give a clear incentive to homeowners to provide nursing care whenever they can. Observer 1 October 2000.
• The government yesterday broke more than 50 years of ideological tension between the NHS and private hospitals by signing a long-term treaty with the independent sector to establish joint planning and exchange of patients. Guardian 1 November 2000.
• Does it make sense for the health service to use spare capacity in the private sector? Guardian leader 1 November 2000.
• The "concordat" between this government and the private health industry is odd (NHS treaty with private sector, November 1). Did no one tell the health secretary that the reason the private sector in treatment (as distinct from residential care) exists at all, is the time people are told that they will have to wait for treatment within the NHS? Admission to waiting lists is controlled by the very people who will perform, for their own gain, the operations in private hospitals. Until central government acquires the courage to remove this absurd anomaly, forced upon the founders of the NHS by the power of the royal colleges, then the health services are not manageable. Able as the new NHS chief executive undoubtedly is, he has so little authority over the hospital consultants that he has little chance of bringing this wonderful service into the 20th century, let alone the 21st. Guardian letters 3 November 2000.
• Around 600 hospital workers in the West Midlands town have begun their seventh strike against transfer to the private sector, in a dispute which has become the front line in the growing resistance to the public finance initiative in the health service. Yesterday was the second full day of a two week stoppage by non-clinical staff at four Dudley hospitals, whose jobs have been earmarked for transfer to Summit Healthcare, a private consortium, in an industrial stand-off that is being claimed as the longest series of strikes in the NHS. At issue are the health trust's plans to hand hospital buildings and non-clinical services and employees - including porters, cleaners and IT staff - over to the private sector on a 40-year £80m contract. In return, the private consortium, which includes Siemens, Building & Property and Sir Robert McAlpine, will rebuild one of Dudley's four hospitals as a "super hospital", turn two others into outpatient centres and close the fourth, with a loss of 70 beds. Despite advice from the health secretary, Alan Milburn, last year that PFI contracts need not include the transfer of non-clinical staff to the private sector, Dudley trust management says it is too late to revise the contract, which is due to be signed within weeks. Guardian 23 November 2000.
• There's not much to be said for the privatisation of the railways, but at least it was honest. The Conservatives told us what they were doing, so we fought them, and when we lost, we kicked them out of office. Governments and their lobbyists will never make that mistake again. Privatisations, from now on, will be so subtle, so complex, that even the ministers implementing them may not be fully aware of what they're doing. This is the means by which the greatest prize of all is now being delivered to the private sector. This Christmas, as every Christmas, will be marked by a massive rise in hospital admissions. And, in accordance with venerable tradition, the NHS won't be able to cope. But the "concordat" published by the government six weeks ago will ensure that patients will now have somewhere to go: they will be settled in private beds, for which the NHS will pay the full commercial rate. Viewed in isolation, this is a sensible decision: it will be costly, but will mean that fewer patients will be left to die in hospital corridors. Viewed in conjunction with the developments of the past three years, this signals the beginning of the end of public health provision in the United Kingdom. The NHS is being privatised. Guardian 21 December 2000.
• Debate: Is the NHS really being privatised? John Appleby and Justin Keen of the King's Fund health think tank take issue with Guardian columnist George Monbiot's comment piece, in which he argues that the government is intent on privatising the NHS Guardian Society Info exchange Friday December 22, 2000
• Volunteers will tour hospital wards and waiting areas to sell a new magazine to patients and visitors. A portion of the sale price will be ploughed back into the health service. Feelgood Magazine will be launched this week in 200 hospitals across the country. For every £1 copy sold, 40 pence will go to the local hospital. ... The magazine will contain 'optimistic' health stories, ensuring it does not frighten patients or become a 'hypochondriacs gazette'. It is aimed at answering questions that patients may not have time to ask a doctor. Observer 21 January 2001.
• Thousands of British soldiers classified as unfit for active service are to be treated at private hospitals in the starkest admission yet that the NHS is in crisis. Observer 28 January 2001.
• Clinical staff could be transferred to the private sector under a £2m private finance initiative scheme to build a kidney unit at Conwy and Denbeighshire trust, apparently in contravention of Welsh Assembly guidance. Under the plans, 23 renal nurses and ward clerks would be transferred. Health Service Journal Roundup 8 March 2001, Guardian 9 March 2001.
• Private health care: the issue explained Steve Brown. Guardian Unlimited Monday March 19, 2001
• The demon privatisers Guardian Wednesday April 11, 2001
• It is a measure of how confident New Labour has become that it can stand up and say, as it does in its 2001 election manifesto, that it will allow the private sector to manage NHS hospitals. Guardian Society Wednesday May 16, 2001
• Policy advisers close to Downing Street are proposing as a centrepiece of a Labour second term that private contractors routinely run swaths of publicly owned services, including clinical health services, school management and most aspects of local government. Guardian Society Wednesday May 16, 2001
• 'This piece of work has the capacity to annoy everyone,' Matthew Taylor, the director of the left-of-centre thinktank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, cheerfully told a recent seminar at the Design Centre. He was referring to the tame-sounding commission on public-private partnerships set up a year ago and chaired by Martin Taylor, chairman of WH Smith and former chief executive of Barclays, one of the brightest business minds deployed by Labour Whitehall. The IPPR's intention was to publish this honest and sometimes iconoclastic work in the political safe ground of the aftermath of Labour's re-election Guardian Unlimited Wednesday May 16, 2001
• Nurses' leader warns of 'creeping privatisation' Guardian Society Monday May 21, 2001
• Shortly before the last general election, Michael Portillo, then still in his hardline Thatcherite incarnation, told a discreet gathering that the greatest challenge for the next Tory government would be whether it would have the guts to privatise the provision - rather than the funding - of health and education. His remarks were greeted with sharp intakes of breath. At the time, there would have been no possibility even for a leading Conservative politician to have voiced such heresies in public. Little more than four years later, it is Tony Blair and Gordon Brown who have taken up Portillo's challenge. Guardian Wednesday May 23, 2001
• The private sector. Paying for patients. Labour seems to see commercial managers as saviours of the health service Guardian Wednesday May 23, 2001
• Nurses steered away from Labour RCN leader says members can halt drift towards privatisation Guardian Society Thursday May 24, 2001
• Election 2001: don't bank on the private sector Letters in Guardian Thursday May 24, 2001
• Q&A: Labour and NHS privatisation Royal College of Nursing leader Christine Hancock has warned of a drift in the health service towards "partial privatisation". Health workers, too, are worried that Labour is planning to privatise great chunks of the NHS. But party leader Tony Blair rejects the claims. Who is right? Guardian Society Friday May 25, 2001
• Labour moved yesterday to assuage fears of union and health professionals about the role of private sector contracts within the NHS, promising that the reforms would be limited and would never breach the principle of a universal service free at the point of delivery Guardian Unlimited Friday May 25, 2001
• There are 10 days left to save the NHS. No, you have not been asleep for four years. Ironically, Labour's key criticism of Tory policy in the last election, has outrageously become all too applicable to its own approach to the NHS. A Labour government which fought the last election promising to end the Tories' internal market in health, is now proposing to go one step worse: creating a sharp-elbowed competitive system involving both private and public health systems. The intent is clear, even if the ultimate objective remains obscure. Labour plans to make more use of the private sector than the Tories ever dared contemplate. Leader Guardian Tuesday May 29, 2001
• The health secretary, Alan Milburn, yesterday laid down clear limits to the role of the private sector in his NHS reform plans and warned that the "ideological blinkers of the left" are playing into the hands of hardcore opponents of the service. Guardian Unlimited Wednesday May 30, 2001
• Funding will be one of the core issues at stake in negotiations over "concordat two", a proposed agreement between private care home operators, the government and local authorities. Health Service Journal round-up Publication date: May 31 Guardian Society Friday June 1, 2001
• Concern over the state of the NHS is prompting a surprisingly high number of people to consider taking out private medical insurance (PMI) says the Consumers' Association. Guardian Friday June 1, 2001
• Tough choices ahead if GPs resign Guardian Society Friday June 1, 2001
• Quite a gravy train. Kevin Maguire takes a dim view of a thinktank which accepts money from private business for research that will help them Guardian Friday June 1, 2001
• Consultants may charge fees to NHS Bar's chambers system could be model for rebel specialists Guardian Friday June 1, 2001
• Bleeding the hospitals Private companies stand to pocket millions that the health service desperately needs George Monbiot Guardian Tuesday June 5, 2001
• Private medical cover is in crisis People are cancelling policies as premiums soar. Instead, they are buying treatment direct from hospitals, finds Patrick Collinson The Guardian Saturday June 9, 2001
• Jill Insley on services that can help navigate choppy non-NHS waters Observer Sunday June 10, 2001
• Unions start battle to defend public services Observer Sunday June 10, 2001
• The cost of apathy. Blair's massive majority means New Labour can continue its obsession with private finance Nick Cohen, SocietyGuardian Sunday June 10, 2001
• A woman who rang NHS Direct, the telephone helpline, when her 80-year-old mother experienced severed back pain was told to go private, it has emerged. SocietyGuardian.co.uk 15 June 2001
• Union steps up opposition to privatisation of services Guardian Society Monday June 11, 2001
• Ancillary staff in NHS hospitals to be run by private companies are to remain employed by the health service under a concession intended to defuse growing union opposition. Guardian Unlimited Friday June 15, 2001
• As Unison's annual conference nears, Geoff Martin explains how the union will fight the government's plans for expanding the privatisation of public services Guardian Society Friday June 15, 2001
• Thousands of frontline workers have put themselves on a collision course with ministers when the country's biggest union threatened to oppose the privatisation of public services with industrial action. Unison promised to press the government to ensure public authorities continued to take the lead role in providing services. Guardian Society Wednesday June 20, 2001
• It's no longer my party.  Tony Blair's dream of a meritocratic Britain is not the dream of a true social democrat.  Roy Hattersley The Observer. Sunday June 24, 2001 
• The left betrayed the public services, so it should stop whingeing about reform now.  Tony Wright, Guardian, Tuesday July 3, 2001
• Unions have put Labour's interests above everything else - but the time has come for them to put their members' needs first, argues Mark Irvine.  Guardian Society, Thursday July 5, 2001
• The Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, today claimed the government has no idea how to implement its "haphazard" proposals to open up the public services to greater private sector involvement.  Guardian Society, Thursday July 5, 2001
• Mandelson warns Blair over private sector role. Guardian Unlimited, Friday July 6, 2001
• A dogma that fails the people.  Labour's very public private disgrace.  Leader Guardian Society, Sunday July 8, 2001
• Campaign for Real Labour is on.  Roy Hattersley Observer Sunday July 8, 2001
• No profit in human rights.  Paul Foot Guardian Society, Tuesday July 10, 2001
• The last-chance saloon of British social democracy.  Blair has staked everything on the reform of public services.  Hugo Young Guardian Tuesday July 17, 2001
• MPs to investigate privatisation.  Patrick Butler Guardian Society Monday July 23, 2001
• Labour is facing a "constitutional crisis" after union leaders threatened to throw out the party's policy on health, education and local government on the grounds that they propose a closer relationship between the public and the private sector.  Patrick Wintour, chief political correspondent Guardian Thursday July 26, 2001
• How much is the nation's best-loved brand name worth? Not Boots or Tesco. Something much more valuable. Respected, cherished and admired the world over: the NHS. How much is the brand worth and how much could we get if we franchised it?  Roy Lilley Guardian Wednesday August 1, 2001
• Unions today expressed reservations over the "unprecedented" government purchase of a private heart hospital.  Guardian Unlimited Wednesday August 8, 2001
• NHS ready to buy more hospitals.  Government still determined to use private sector to build and manage health facilities.  Lucy Ward and James Meikle Guardian Unlimited Thursday August 9, 2001
• Leader: An NHS takeover.  A nationalisation that Attlee forswore.  Guardian Unlimited Thursday August 9, 2001
• Coming to a hospital near you.  The same private contractors who wrecked the railways are now moving in to other public services.  Andrew Murray Guardian Unlimited Friday August 10, 2001
• During the final days of the last Conservative government, I talked to a number of GPs about the concept of large retail conglomerates running and being involved in NHS health centres (Roy Lilley, August 1). Not surprisingly their initial reactions were hostile and they mumbled about independence, the NHS and public service, creeping privatisation and general destruction of a respected organisation. However, they turned around completely at the prospect of decent premises, parking, accessibility, 24-hour security, outsourcing of accounts, general support for administration and a host of other collectively useful benefits. Couple this with in-store pharmacies, opticians and dentistry, occupational health services for supermarket staff and a walk-in centre for the public, and GP premises at supermarket sites started to look very attractive.  Readers' letters Guardian Wednesday August 15, 2001
• The PR firm owned by Margaret Thatcher's PR guru, Tim Bell, has been hired to promote the government's private finance initiative.  Julia Day Guardian Media Thursday August 23, 2001
• NHS surgeons on private rates to clear backlog Guardian Society Friday August 31, 2001
• It's only a matter of time before organ transplant is contracted out to pizza firms.  John O'Farrell Guardian Saturday September 1, 2001 
• Two of the most prominent Blairite members of the Cabinet have privately played down the prospect of companies taking over key services, in an attempt to avert damaging rows with union leaders at the TUC and Labour party conferences.   Guardian Unlimited Tuesday September 4, 2001
• No private panaceas.  Labour needs to spell out its commitment to public control of public services.  Margaret Hodge Guardian Thursday September 6, 2001
• A heart patient sold his house to fly to South Africa for treatment in the belief that he could die before receiving treatment on the NHS.  Guardian Saturday September 8, 2001
• Partnerships must be made in public.  Guardian Tuesday September 11, 2001
• The government refuses to listen to criticism. Even its own advisers are being shut out.  George Monbiot, Guardian Tuesday September 11, 2001
• Social care is at the heart of the welfare state, yet, as David Batty discovers, the new generation of social service professionals is increasingly in favour of a private sector role.  David Batty  Guardian Society Wednesday September 19, 200
• Call for private sector to pay for training NHS staff Simon Parker Guardian Society  Thursday September 27, 2001
• Milburn buys private ops to free NHS beds Millions invested in drive to cut surgery waiting times.  John Carvel Guardian Society Thursday October 25, 2001
• More NHS patients to get private treatment.  Patrick Butler Guardian Society Thursday October 25, 2001
• Q&A: Private sector involvement in the NHS Labour plans to treat 100,000 more NHS patients each year in private hospitals, build more hospitals under the private finance initiative and extend public-private partnerships to provide more choice for patients in how and where they receive NHS treatment. Does this amount to privatisation? Patrick Butler explains.  Guardian Society Thursday October 25, 2001
• The Consumers' Association (CA) today made its first "supercomplaint" to the Office of Fair Trading, urging them to investigate private dentistry in the UK.  Guardian Unlimited Monday October 29, 2001

• A 500 bed hospital in Madrid that is owned by the state but run for a fee by private management is providing the latest reformist idea to excite Alan Milburn, the health secretary, as he tries to move the NHS from its roots as a post-war nationalised industry.  John Carvel and Giles Tremlett in Madrid  Guardian Society Tuesday November 6, 2001

• Sickening cost of going private.  Margaret Hughes Guardian Saturday November 24, 2001
• A private healthcare company headed by one of Tony Blair's closest allies is making millions of pounds from acute NHS staff shortages, The Observer has discovered.  Observer Sunday November 25, 2001
• NHS to pay for private health treatment Michael White,  Guardian Unlimited Tuesday December 4, 2001
• Milburn stands by Bupa deal.  Matthew Tempest,  Guardian Unlimited Tuesday December 4, 2001
• Q&A: Private sector involvement in the NHS Labour plans to treat 100,000 more NHS patients each year in private hospitals, build more hospitals under the private finance initiative and extend public-private partnerships to provide more choice for patients in how and where they receive NHS treatment. Does this amount to privatisation? Patrick Butler explains.  Guardian Society Tuesday December 4, 2001
• Salvation or road to ruin? For the first time, a privately-run hospital will be used solely to treat NHS patients.  John Carvel Guardian Unlimited Wednesday December 5, 2001
• Colour-styled decor and not a whiff of disinfectant.  Steven Morris Guardian Wednesday December 5, 2001
• Hospital plan opens old wounds. Unions furious but Labour MPs give cautious welcome to NHS-Bupa link.  John Carvel, Kevin Maguire and Michael White Guardian Unlimited Wednesday December 5, 2001
• Silly and sensible.  NHS reform is bigger than Bupa beds.  Leader Guardian Unlimited Wednesday December 5, 2001
• Further treatment for the NHS.  Guardian letters Wednesday December 5, 2001
• Private ops offer to cut NHS queue. Hospital choice scheme to ensure maximum six-month wait for patients.  Michael White and John Carvel Guardian Unlimited Thursday December 6, 2001
• Wrong medicine for NHS.  Guardian letters, Friday December 7, 2001
• In bed with Tony and Alan.  John O'Farrell Guardian Saturday December 8, 2001
• The government's growing enthusiasm for private health provision is a threat to universal care.  Allyson Pollock Guardian Tuesday December 11, 2001
• Private medical insurance.  Guardian Unlimited Tuesday December 11, 2001
• Police forced to buy private health care.  Observer Sunday December 16, 2001
• Cash-strapped NHS hospitals chase private patient 'bonanza' .  Observer  Society Sunday December 16, 2001
• The government and unions are in danger of a fresh political collision over a perceived pro-business bias at the heart of government, leaked TUC minutes show.  The new row has been fuelled by union anger at the failure of ministers to stick to "a no surprises policy", supposed to ensure that unions are forewarned of controversial announcements over the future of public services, including plans to extend the role of the private sector in the NHS.  Guardian Society Monday December 24, 2001
• Milburn may look to private cash for doctor training.  Minister's plan seeks quid pro quo for NHS in new climate.  Guardian Unlimited Monday January 7, 2002
• Milburn hails more private links for NHS.  Guardian Unlimited Thursday January 10, 2002
• Hospital neglected mother, inquest is told.   Guardian Wednesday January 16, 2002
• Plans to hand over the running of persistently failing hospitals to charities or universities have met a mixed response from the voluntary sector.  Guardian Society Wednesday January 16, 2002
• Cashing in on the NHS.  Guardian Letters Thursday January 17, 2002
• Coroner condemns catastrophic error in care of Laura Touche at private clinic as husband calls findings 'far bleaker than I imagined'.    Guardian Saturday January 19, 2002
• First NHS patients arrive at French clinic Some 200 Britons will be operated on abroad in next three months but health service remains coy over cost of treatment.  Guardian Saturday January 19, 2002
• Cancer truth.  Observer Sunday January 20, 2002
• Matters of life and death.  Private hospitals are idealised, the public health system derided. But in maternity care the NHS is unrivalled.  Dea Birkett Guardian Tuesday January 22, 2002
• Last week, an inquest ruled that Laura Touche died of neglect in a prestigious private hospital. Sarah Hall asks if paying for healthcare could actually be bad for you.  Guardian Thursday January 24, 2002
• Hospitals in Greece bid for NHS work.   Guardian Wednesday January 30, 2002
• When the NHS is slow to get people back to work, firms insure their workers, says Caroline Palmer.   Observer  Sunday February 10, 2002
• A Labour-controlled select committee is so divided on the issue of private finance that its chairman is in danger of being outvoted by his own party colleagues.  Guardian Wednesday February 27, 2002
• Private contractors' "efficiency savings" come from cuts in staffing and some lowering of pay rates, mainly of blue collar workers, according to an unpublished report commissioned by the government from the office of government commerce.  Guardian Friday March 8, 2002
• NHS cases pay for quick ops in South Africa.  Anthony Browne, health editor Observer Sunday March 17, 2002
• NHS surgeons cash in on waiting lists crisis Sarah Boseley, health editor  Guardian Tuesday March 19, 2002
• Government faces union challenge on NHS staff rights.  Patrick Butler Guardian Society Tuesday March 26, 2002
• NHS crisis as middle class rebel.  Minister's fear over 'two-tier Britain'. Gaby Hinsliff and Kamal Ahmed Observer Sunday March 31, 2002
• Milburn: People feel they are forced to go private.  Health Secretary Alan Milburn spoke to The Observer about the challenges facing the NHS, and the Labour Party, ahead of a crucial month for the public services agenda.  Gaby Hinsliff Observer.co.uk Sunday March 31, 2002
• The private sector is putting pressure on the government to open up areas of the health service such as pharmacy and pathology to business interests.  Guardian Society Thursday April 4, 2002
• Fraud swoop on NHS drug firms.  Police raid homes and offices over £400m 'plot'.  Simon Bowers Guardian Thursday April 11, 2002
• Letters 'It is better to have mediocre care for the whole of Britain than excellent care for the few'  Correspondents give their views on the health system.  Guardian Society Thursday April 11, 2002
• Is private medical insurance for you? With NHS waiting lists stretching on forever, should you buy private health insurance and avoid the queue? Rachel Gordon takes a look at what's on offer.  Guardian Unlimited Thursday April 11, 2002
• If the government's injection of cash really does deliver improvements in the National Health Service, it should reduce the need for private medical insurance (PMI) which, for many, has become a huge financial burden.  Margaret Hughes Guardian Saturday May 4, 2002
• Blair "exceeds" Tory privatisation of NHS.  David Brindle Guardian Wednesday May 8, 2002
• Alan Milburn, the health secretary, provoked the scorn of Labour traditionalists yesterday when he placed adverts in national newspapers inviting the private sector to run failing NHS hospitals.  John Carvel and Terry Macalister Guardian Thursday May 9, 2002
• The perils of plain speaking.  A privatisation critic is the victim of a government smear campaign.  Roy Hattersley Guardian Monday May 20, 2002
• Role of business in NHS to expand, says Milburn.  David Batty Society Friday May 24, 2002
• I was heartened to read Roy Hattersley's stout defence of Professor Allyson Pollock (The perils of plain speaking, May 20). As a member of the health select committee I was saddened by the committee's attack on Professor Pollock and her colleagues in its report on the role of the private sector in the NHS. I was one of three members of the committee to seek unsuccessfully to have the relevant clauses removed from the report.  Guardian letter from Dr Richard Taylor MP Saturday May 25, 2002
• Private sector given permanent NHS role.  Milburn revises approach to waiting lists. John Carvel, social affairs editor Guardian Saturday May 25, 2002
• Care homes warn of fee increases  Society Friday May 31, 2002
• Crony makes killing from NHS.  Blair health guru Chai Patel gives celebrities discounts at his chain of Priory clinics if they have private health cover. Taxpayers are less lucky.  Nick Mathiason Observer Sunday June 2, 2002
• Many private health providers are making huge profits by treating National Health Service patients. Health experts from the private sector have told The Observer that margins are on average 30 to 35 per cent.  But this could soon change. Health policymakers are revising plans to open up the NHS to private companies and insisting that the public purse claws back profits.  Nick Mathiason Observer Sunday June 2, 2002
• Sell-off fear. Guardian letter Wednesday June 5, 2002
• Hospital plans hit by union revolt.  Kevin Maguire Guardian Thursday June 6, 2002
• Drug price controls 'faulty'.  Simon Bowers Wednesday June 12, 2002 The Guardian
• America sneezes, we catch a cold.  Importing the US model will undermine the health service.  Allyson Pollock Friday June 21, 2002 The Guardian
• Cost of caring.  Letters Sunday June 23, 2002 The Observer
• Medical cover premiums are rising fast, but it doesn't have to be a pay through the nose job, reports Andrew Bibby.  Sunday June 23, 2002 The Observer
• Competition for healthcare, in the US and Britain.  Letters Monday June 24, 2002 The Guardian
• Watchdog warns of gaps in waiting list deals.  NHS patients left 'stranded' in private sector agreements.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Tuesday June 25, 2002 The Guardian
• Errors of omission that gave cause for alarm.  John Carvel Tuesday June 25, 2002 The Guardian
• The Commons committee on public administration is publishing a report this week on the public service ethos. David Walker thinks it does not go far enough.  Guardian Thursday June 27, 2002
• We are concerned by the unsubstantiated criticism of testimony provided by Professor Allyson Pollock, and the health policy and health services research unit, University College London, in the Commons' health committee report (Comment, June 21). From the US, the tone and content of this criticism seems puzzling, when considered against your government's stated commitment to evidence-based policy.  Guardian letters Monday July 1, 2002 
• Foreign aid for the NHS.  Guardian letters Tuesday July 2, 2002 
• Drugs firms should be required to end their secrecy over clinical trials if they wish to get approval for widespread NHS use of their products, the Commons health select committee said last night.  The Guardian Wednesday July 3, 2002 
• Auditors take wider look at smallpox vaccine deal.  Watchdog checks on contracts awarded to Labour donor's firm.  Rob Evans and David Hencke Guardian Saturday July 13, 2002
• Asylum seekers may get private medical care.  Steven Morris Guardian Monday July 29, 2002
• Private arrangement.  NHS trust forced to open pay beds to keep consultants.  Chris Gallagher Guardian Wednesday July 24, 2002 [Scarborough]
• Is it not a touch ironic that an NHS hospital in Scarborough is being forced to open beds for private patients (Private arrangement, July 24) while here in Calderdale the local NHS trust has, in the last year, been obliged to send over 500 patients to the neighbouring Bupa hospital for treatment because of bed shortages in the new PFI-funded Calderdale Royal hospital?  Ian Wishart, Chislehurst, Kent, Readers' letters Guardian Wednesday July 31, 2002
• Row as cash-strapped college considers selling land to wealthy Muslim leader for £20m instead of the NHS for £10m.  Michael White, political editor Guardian Saturday August 3, 2002
• Drug firm faces big fine over market tactics.  James Meikle Health correspondent Guardian Monday August 5, 2002
• Cancer gene tests 'will destroy private health'.  James Meek Guardian Monday August 5, 2002
• Medical insurance premiums soar.  Sandra Willcocks Guardian Unlimited Friday August 9, 2002
• After the August we've had, only a fool or a minister could still believe that privatisation equals efficiency.  Roy Hattersley Friday August 30, 2002 The Guardian
• GP struck off for organ trading.  Guardian Friday August 30, 2002
• We all depend on the unions to confront privatisation and the advance of corporate power.  George Monbiot Tuesday September 10, 2002 The Guardian
• NHS consultants were accused yesterday of obstructing government plans to cut hospital waiting lists in order to keep a large pool of patients for their lucrative private practice.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Saturday September 28, 2002 The Guardian
• Leadership defeated on private cash.  Minister barracked during angry debate.  Kevin Maguire Tuesday October 1, 2002 The Guardian
• If Enron ran the NHS... Letter Tuesday October 1, 2002 The Guardian
• An official blueprint for the introduction of radical changes to the NHS and social services over the next three years, including the establishment of self-governing foundation hospital trusts and an expansion in the number of private health providers, emerged today.  Patrick Butler Wednesday October 2, 2002
• Free private care on NHS to be extended.  More choice for those on waiting lists, says Milburn.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday October 3, 2002 The Guardian
• Sick of soaring premiums?  Many people are opting for 'pay-as-you-go' when it comes to medical care. Patrick Collinson looks at whether it's a gamble worth taking.  Saturday October 12, 2002 The Guardian
• WTO: open public services to market.  Nick Mathiason Sunday October 13, 2002 The Observer
• Alan Milburn, the health secretary, was last night poised to sign an agreement with an American health care company to provide NHS services to keep frail older people healthy enough to stay in their own homes.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday October 24, 2002 The Guardian
• Financial crisis hits firm in tube plan.  News of debts leaves part privatisation in disarray.  Terry Macalister and Andrew Clark Friday November 8, 2002 The Guardian
• Counting the cost of NHS email.  The health service must put its IT providers under the microscope, writes Joey Gardiner.  Friday November 8, 2002
• An American firm hired by Health Secretary Alan Milburn to transform the way elderly patients are treated in the NHS has been fined more than $7 million (£4.4m) in the past two years for allegedly cheating the US government, doctors and patients.  Antony Barnett and Solomon Hughes Sunday November 10, 2002 The Observer
• The private healthcare giant Bupa is expected to be given the green light to bid to take over and run failing NHS hospitals under controversial government plans to be unveiled this week. Sunday December 15, 2002 The Observer
• The government has bought a group of private US blood suppliers in a deal that could cost nearly £70m, a move that ministers say should safeguard long-term stocks of plasma products for the NHS.  James Meikle Wednesday December 18, 2002 The Guardian
• NHS praised for speed in buying private hospital.  James Meikle, health correspondent Thursday December 19, 2002 The Guardian
• The government will today declare three NHS hospitals [two in Avon, one in Birmingham] to be failing patients so badly they must be taken out of normal health service management and be run by contractors, possibly from the private sector. John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday December 19, 2002
• Potential NHS franchisers.  The organisations approved to take over the running of failing NHS trusts, named by the government today. The register of management experts drawn up by the Department of Health in December 2002 contains 71 organisations. Eight are from the private healthcare sector; there are 62 NHS trusts and one strategic health authority. Thursday December 19, 2002
• The possibility of NHS trusts being run by the private sector has been opened up by Alan Milburn, the health secretary, after he invited eight independent healthcare firms - including Bupa - to tender for the job of managing "failing" hospitals.  Adam James Thursday December 19, 2002
• Alan Milburn, the health secretary, delighted the Conservatives and dismayed Labour traditionalists yesterday when he named eight private companies as candidates to take over failing NHS hospitals.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday December 20, 2002 The Guardian
• Health department sues drug firms for 'price-fixing'.  Simon Bowers and Sarah Boseley Tuesday December 24, 2002 The Guardian
• The new year opens with the national health service one step closer to a historical moment: the first NHS hospital being handed over to a private company to run. Eighteen months ago, the chief executive of the NHS was slapped down by the health secretary for even floating the idea. Twelve months ago Alan Milburn - undoubtedly under Downing Street indoctrination - became converted. Malcolm Dean Wednesday January 8, 2003 The Guardian  [two in Avon, one in Birmingham]
• The NHS is to give all patients facing long delays for surgery at their local hospital the chance to have the operation carried out elsewhere, in an attempt to drive down waiting lists. The prime minister, Tony Blair, announced the initiative last night. It builds on the apparent success of pilot "patient choice" schemes in London for cardiac and cataract patients waiting longer than six months for treatment. Friday January 24, 2003
• Health Secretary Alan Milburn is coming under pressure to block a flagship £400m sale of 120 former NHS hospitals and asylums in a deal which MPs fear could see the taxpayer lose out by £100m. Nick Mathiason Sunday February 2, 2003 The Observer
• Gordon Brown last night drew back the veil on the domestic political debate that has gripped the cabinet since Labour's re-election by warning that the overextension of the market in the public sector can have long-term, irreversible and catastrophic consequences.  Patrick Wintour,  chief political correspondent Tuesday February 4, 2003 The Guardian
• Brown's big idea.  A welcome challenge to a Labour taboo.  Leader Tuesday February 4, 2003 The Guardian
• Within three years all NHS patients in England will be able to choose to be treated free of charge in a private hospital, under plans for a huge extension of consumer choice announced yesterday by the health secretary, Alan Milburn.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday February 12, 2003 The Guardian
• Alarm at NHS 'companies'.  Milburn's bill sparks Labour backlash.  Kevin Maguire, Larry Elliott and Michael White Saturday March 8, 2003 The Guardian
• The credibility of a government inquiry intended to settle the controversy surrounding widely prescribed anti-depressant drugs was thrown into question yesterday by revelations that most of the members have shareholdings or other links to the manufacturers. Sarah Boseley, health editor Monday March 17, 2003 The Guardian
• Bupa, the private health insurance group, yesterday reported a rise in pre-tax profits of almost 20% on the back of unprecedented growth in the number of NHS patients being treated in its hospitals. David Black Thursday March 20, 2003 The Guardian
• The daughter of Nadhmi Auchi - one of Britain's wealthiest tycoons who was arrested earlier this week on a French extradition warrant - is under criminal investigation for allegedly taking part in a suspected drug company price-fixing cartel which provided the NHS with millions of pounds worth of prescription medicines. Simon Bowers Friday April 4, 2003 The Guardian
• The serious fraud office has enraged some of Britain's biggest generic drug companies by passing on to the Department of Health papers seized during raids last year. The department is pursuing civil claims against some of the firms under criminal investigation. Simon Bowers Saturday April 5, 2003 The Guardian
• From compulsory competitive tendering under the Tories to best value under Labour, outsourcing has spread throughout the public sector during its 20-year history. Patrick Butler charts its evolution. Tuesday April 15 The Guardian
• Shareholders will gather in Michigan today to hear about the soaring profits of the world's largest pharmaceutical company. But, report Sarah Boseley and Nils Pratley, it faces new pressure to do more for the world's poor. Thursday April 24, 2003 The Guardian
• Growing evidence emerged today of the increasing partnership between the NHS and the private health sector after latest figures revealed the biggest rise in three years in trust income from treating private patients. Debbie Andalo Thursday April 24, 2003
• The new leader of Britain's third largest union today warns Tony Blair of "huge fights" on private finance in public services, foundation hospitals and pensions. Jackie Ashley Monday April 28, 2003 The Guardian
• A private GP service plans to open surgeries in supermarkets across the UK in a move that will radically change family doctor services, SocietyGuardian.co.uk has learned. David Batty Tuesday April 29, 2003
• A drug company has been found to have broken the pharmaceutical industry's code of practice five times by claiming that its antidepressant is better than its out-of-patent drug from which the new product is derived. Sarah Boseley, health editor Wednesday April 30, 2003 The Guardian
• Health Secretary Alan Milburn is demanding to know how much money has been spent on hiring surgeons in private hospitals to clear NHS waiting lists, as concern grows that the taxpayer is being ripped off. Jo Revill and Mark Gould Sunday May 4, 2003 The Observer
• Blinded by the light of privatisation.  Blair's faith in the power of the markets remains unwavering.  Roy Hattersley Monday May 5, 2003 The Guardian
• With the latest Commons rebellion so fresh in the mind, let's reflect on that other triumph of progressive New Labour NHS policy, the PFI hospital. Matthew Norman Friday May 9, 2003 The Guardian
• A failing NHS hospital is to be run by a chief executive from the private sector. James Meikle, health correspondent Saturday May 10, 2003 The Guardian
• Ministers have abandoned plans to contract out the top management teams at two of the three "failing" hospital trusts who were due to be taken over by either NHS experts or private firms. Tash Shifrin Monday May 12, 2003
• A range of NHS clinical services have already being outsourced, and more clinical and management services look set to follow if the health secretary has his way. Seamus Ward reports. Wednesday May 14, 2003 The Guardian
• Tony Blair told private-sector healthcare executives at breakfast in Downing Street yesterday that he wanted to open the whole of the NHS to outside competition. John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday May 14, 2003 The Guardian
• What would you do if you needed a kidney transplant and couldn't find a donor? Sit through years of dialysis - assuming there was a machine available - or buy your way back to health? Phil Daoust Tuesday May 20, 2003 The Guardian
• Private firms are milking profits from public services at the expense of taxpayers and workers. It's time for unions to tackle the fat cats head on, says Geoff Martin. Friday May 30, 2003
• The editor of the prestigious British Medical Journal today calls for "relationships that are less grubby" between drug companies and doctors. James Meikle Health correspondent Friday May 30, 2003 The Guardian
• A hospital trust in Sutton Coldfield will be the first to be managed by the private sector. Tash Shifrin finds out how it is taking the news. Wednesday June 4, 2003 The Guardian
• The commercial fundraiser at the centre of a scandal involving two breast cancer charities has called in the liquidators. Tash Shifrin Monday June 9, 2003
• The voluntary sector is setting up an independent commission to develop plans for a new body to regulate charity fundraising. The move by the Institute of Fundraising follows the scandal that last month hit two breast cancer charities, sparking intervention by the charity watchdog and the courts. Tash Shifrin Wednesday June 11, 2003 The Guardian
• Fundraising firm had been investigated before. Tash Shifrin Thursday June 12, 2003
• The chief medical officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, has called for a national review of private cosmetic surgery after an official inspection found that some clinics do not have proper procedures in place to carry out full checks on their surgeons. Tuesday July 8, 2003
• Leading orthopaedic consultants are receiving "trips for hips" as part of a drive by manufacturers to persuade them to use their products, the national audit office says today. David Hencke, Westminster correspondent Thursday July 17, 2003 The Guardian
• Foreign nurses are being used as slave labour in private care homes after being lured to Britain with false promises of training to work in top NHS hospitals, the Royal College of Nursing warned last night. John Carvel, social affairs editor Tuesday July 22, 2003 The Guardian
• The government's medical watchdog is to "investigate urgently" a marketing ploy by GlaxoSmithKline that uses a specially-written Mr Men children's book to promote its anti-allergy products. James Meikle and Chris Tryhorn Tuesday August 12, 2003 The Guardian
• A private sector "casualty" unit is set to open in London, promising to treat patients who are prepared to pay in "minutes not hours". Tash Shifrin Monday August 18, 2003
• Patients with minor illnesses and injuries will soon be able to pay £29 to attend private casualty units and avoid long waits at NHS accident and emergency departments, a private healthcare company said last night. James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday August 19, 2003 The Guardian
• An NHS hospital in the West Midlands was yesterday handed to private management in the first deal signed since last year's announcement that firms could tender against NHS trusts to run failing hospitals. James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday August 20, 2003 The Guardian
• Pound signs. Lorraine Cushnie Saturday August 30, 2003 The Guardian
• Private contractor Secta today formally took over the running of zero star rated Good Hope hospital trust in Birmingham, as a three-year contract is signed. Tash Shifrin Monday September 1, 2003
• Consultants protest as top eye hospital told to transfer patients to private sector treatment centre. Michael White, political editor Friday September 5, 2003 The Guardian [Oxford]
• The Government's biggest IT outsourcing project suffered another blow yesterday when controversial US firm EDS pulled out of the race to provide millions of pounds worth of computer systems to the National Health Service. Conal Walsh Sunday September 14, 2003 The Observer
• Wasting money, and lives. Tony Blair said back in May that he wanted to open the whole NHS to outside competition. Now, it seems, his ministers want to go one step further and prop up foreign healthcare corporations at the expense of NHS doctors and nurses (No, it's not privatisation, September 12). So much for the government's pledge to invest in the NHS. Letters Monday September 15, 2003 The Guardian
• The cost of private medical insurance has risen by over 50% in the last five years making it too costly for many to buy, said a report out today.  Lisa Bachelor Wednesday September 17, 2003
• A US model adopted by the NHS cares for elderly people at home and prevents hospital admissions. By Richard Lewis. Wednesday October 1, 2003 The Guardian
• Q&A. Two-tier workforce. Patrick Butler Wednesday October 1, 2003 The Guardian
• The idiot's guide. David Walker on who supplies what in four big-spending ministries. Wednesday October 1, 2003
• The NHS relies on private provision, and vice versa. NHS private beds form about a fifth of all private hospital beds. Wednesday October 1, 2003
• A public service ethos binds our healthcare but what, Sarah Hall asks John Reid, will happen when his radical reforms kick in? Wednesday October 1, 2003
• The public ethos is under threat from our consumer society, warns Polly Toynbee. Wednesday October 1, 2003
• Vince Clark, a builder aged 40, cut the side off his finger and wanted to avoid losing work time. Lubnar Ali, a 21-year-old economics graduate, was worried about whether her fainting attacks left her unsafe to drive. John Ezard Thursday October 2, 2003 The Guardian
• George Monbiot is right to draw attention not only to the "stealthy privatisation" of the NHS by Labour (The patient is dying, September 30), but also the way they are undermining Britain's doctors in the process. Letters Friday October 3, 2003 The Guardian
• John Reid, the health secretary, yesterday awarded the first contracts for a national electronic booking system to give NHS patients the opportunity to make appointments at the hospital of their choice at the time of their choice. John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday October 9, 2003 The Guardian
• Doctors' leaders warned yesterday that the government is surreptitiously changing the character of the NHS by turning it from an organisation that treats patients into a purchaser of services provided by private contractors. John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday October 10, 2003 The Guardian
• The government will today accelerate a £125m programme to provide deaf people with free digital hearing aids by handing over part of the work from the NHS to the private sector. John Carvel Monday October 13, 2003 The Guardian
• The first private sector 'casualty unit' is an opportunistic attempt to exploit public fears about the state of the NHS and ensure a two-tier service, says Geoff Martin. Monday October 13, 2003
• With premiums escalating, private medical insurance is no longer affordable for an increasing number of people unless they're a member of their employer's scheme. This is particularly the case for the over-60s, whose cover at 65 can cost more than twice as much as someone aged 45, and then increase by 20-30% a year as they move into higher age bands. Margaret Hughes Saturday October 18, 2003 The Guardian
• Market forces are going to kill off private healthcare. Labour's deal with consultants should transform the health service. Polly Toynbee Wednesday October 22, 2003 The Guardian
• Worried about its tarnished public image, Jarvis was back on the rack yesterday after agreeing to drop out of an important contract for the National Health Service. Terry Macalister Thursday October 23, 2003 The Guardian
• A number of hospitals are contacting patients involved in car accidents asking them to sue for damages using a private claims handling firm, the Guardian can reveal. Phillip Inman and Jill Papworth Saturday October 18, 2003 The Guardian
• Accident victims are facing 'emotional blackmail' from hospitals urging them to make a claim to pay for their treatment, report Jill Papworth and Phillip Inman. Saturday October 18, 2003 The Guardian
• Hospitals rethink their links with personal injury firms. A Jobs & Money investigation forces health chiefs to review policy of pressing patients in accidents to pursue compensation claims. Phillip Inman reports. Saturday October 25, 2003 The Guardian
• Parliament's spending watchdog is investigating allegations that NHS hospitals are losing millions of pounds to subsidise the treatment of private patients, the Guardian has learned. John Carvel, social affairs editor Monday October 27, 2003 The Guardian
• The NHS is paying 40% more for operations in the private sector than the same procedures would cost if they were carried out in NHS hospitals, MPs have been told. Tash Shifrin Tuesday October 28, 2003
• It's welcome news that the National Audit Office is to look into allegations that the National Health Service is losing millions of pounds to subsidise the treatment of private patients (Inquiry into NHS 'subsidy' for private patients, October 27). It is unclear whether "pay beds" actually provide a net profit for hospitals when all the hidden costs, like nursing time, are taken into account. The NHS does not have enough beds or staff, so the income from pay beds is not worth the loss of capacity that they represent. Patients deserve the best care, and taxpayers deserve the best deal. With this government it is questionable whether we are getting either. Letter from Paul Burstow MP Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary Friday October 31, 2003 The Guardian
• The row over foundation hospitals is as curious as it is furious. With so much to argue about over the government's plans to change the character of the NHS, the puzzle is why massive political attention is consistently given to the foundation plan, to the exclusion of more important matters. Wednesday November 12, 2003 The Guardian
• Labour's leading moderniser Alan Milburn will today argue that the government can defuse the row over extending choice in the public services by giving a much greater role to the voluntary sector. Patrick Wintour, chief political correspondent Wednesday November 12, 2003 The Guardian
• The social care inspectorate has been forced to admit it still has no register for agencies providing care to people in their homes, six months after legislation was first introduced. Helene Mulholland Monday November 17, 2003
• Advertisers may soon be able to take advantage of the ultimate captive audience by beaming commercials directly to hospital beds. Julia Day Friday November 21, 2003
• An NHS trust [South West Oxfordshire PCT] yesterday delivered a slap in the face to John Reid, the health secretary, when it threw out his plan to use foreign healthcare corporations to operate on patients from the NHS waiting list. John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday November 28, 2003 The Guardian
• The powerful trade body for independent healthcare providers has denied it is failing to deliver following the second split with one of its leading members in as many weeks. Helene Mulholland Thursday November 27, 2003
• Revealed: how drug firms 'hoodwink' medical journals. Pharmaceutical giants hire ghostwriters to produce articles - then put doctors' names on them. Antony Barnett, public affairs editor Sunday December 7, 2003 The Observer
• A judge has prevented the £337m merger of two British computer software companies to prevent them dominating the planned national electronic patient record system for the NHS. David Hencke, Westminster correspondent Monday December 8, 2003 The Guardian
• BT hits jackpot with NHS deals. Richard Wray Tuesday December 9, 2003 The Guardian
• The head of the health select committee has accused the government of withholding embarrassing figures which would reveal the true NHS costs of using private healthcare providers to drive down waiting lists. Helene Mulholland Friday December 12, 2003
• The British pharmaceutical industry, which has become hugely wealthy, in part thanks to government incentives, is failing to develop the drugs the NHS needs, according to a thinktank report. Sarah Boseley, health editor Monday December 15, 2003 The Guardian
• NHS seeks £30m from drug firms in price fixing claim. James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday December 23, 2003 The Guardian
• NHS consultants charge up to 60% more than their international counterparts for performing the most common operations in the private healthcare sector, according to research published today.  David Batty Monday December 29, 2003
• A flagship £400 million sale of 120 former NHS hospitals and asylums to the private sector is close to collapse. Nick Mathiason Sunday January 11, 2004 The Observer
• Up to 15% of NHS operations may be contracted out to private firms, the health secretary John Reid said yesterday in a significant ratcheting up of the government's aspirations for privatisation of the health service. John Carvel, social affairs editor Tuesday January 13, 2004 The Guardian
• Privates on parade. Leader Tuesday January 13, 2004 The Guardian
• NHS's private medicine.  Letters Thursday January 15, 2004 The Guardian
• The £5bn national programme to modernise NHS IT systems is facing its first overt rebellion by a major stakeholder. EMIS, the largest supplier of systems to GPs, said this week that it would not take part in new arrangements aimed at enabling doctors to book hospital appointments and prescribe drugs from their desktops. Thursday January 22, 2004 The Guardian
• With the backing of a multi-millionaire financier, a revolutionary cancer centre modelled on the best American hospitals is being planned for Britain to treat thousands of NHS patients a year. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday January 25, 2004 The Observer
• Famous women have backed an NHS screening test unaware they were being set up by a biotech corporation and its PR agency. Antony Barnett Sunday January 25, 2004 The Observer
• If you are ill, would you rather see your GP or the company doctor? Tim Hitchcock on the growing role of the occupational health practitioner.  Monday January 26, 2004 The Guardian
• Now that the NHS is geared up for IT, both staff and patients need to be convinced that this can only mean an improved service. Michael Cross talks to the man who struck the deal.  Wednesday January 28, 2004 The Guardian
• The umbrella body that represents NHS hospital trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities is to welcome private healthcare firms from the UK and overseas into its ranks as affiliate members. The NHS Confederation's affiliate membership scheme will be open to all private companies and charities that provide health or social care services under contract to the NHS. The scheme will give affiliates input into the confederation's influential policy work as well as connecting them more closely with NHS managers.  Tash Shifrin Wednesday January 28, 2004
• John Reid, the health secretary, is preparing to smash a "consultant cartel" at NHS hospitals by running an advertising campaign telling patients to bypass doctors who make them wait too long for treatment. John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday February 5, 2004 The Guardian
• The health service is paying up to 50% more for operations in the private sector than the same procedures would cost if they were carried out in NHS hospitals, Department of Health figures are expected to show today.  Tash Shifrin Thursday February 5, 2004
• BT yesterday won a £530m contract to build and manage a broadband network for the high-speed transfer of patient data between NHS hospitals and surgeries. Friday February 20, 2004 The Guardian
• At least 10 NHS hospitals, built with private-sector funds, are facing deficits amounting to more than £40 million, says a new report from health campaigners. One hospital has had to close a ward, another has raised its car-parking charges for visitors, and several others are cutting back on agency staff to save money. The large monthly sums they have to pay to their private consortium partners, along with the rising number of emergency admissions, has put them under financial pressure.  John Lister of campaign group London Health Emergency, which carried out the survey, said the hospitals built in the first wave of PFI face a unique handicap in the new competitive environment from April. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday March 14, 2004 The Observer
• The Department of Health last night emphatically denied claims of secret talks to bulk buy thousands of operations a year from private hospitals. It was reported that ministers were preparing to announce the first long-term contracts to provide routine care for NHS patients. However, ministerial sources told the Guardian the reports were wrong. James Sturcke Monday March 22, 2004 The Guardian
• Doctors' leaders warned yesterday that patients were bound to suffer from a sudden move by the government to introduce the profit motive into NHS general practice for the first time since 1948. Ministers tabled a regulation to encourage competition between GPs and private firms in providing non-standard services such as vaccination, contraception, cervical screening and home visits outside normal working hours. John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday March 26, 2004 The Guardian
• NHS trusts which have treated record numbers of patients are facing penalties of hundreds of thousands of pounds imposed by the private landlords of their hospitals. Secret clauses written into contracts between the NHS and the private consortia which build and run the hospitals stipulate that penalties must be paid if the number of patients treated exceeds a set figure, even if they are emergency cases. The money comes out of the hospitals' annual revenue budget, leaving less money in the pot for developments. The Worcestershire Royal Hospital, which has a deficit of around £15 million, was charged £200,000 this year under its penalty clause. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday March 28, 2004 The Observer
• John Reid, the health secretary, is preparing to deal a blow to Britain's private hospitals by scrapping the concordat signed three years ago by his predecessor, Alan Milburn, to give them a larger slice of NHS work in England. He has told colleagues that UK private healthcare providers are taking the taxpayer for a ride by charging well over standard NHS rates for operating on patients from the waiting list. The government is still determined that the private sector should play a larger part in the treatment of NHS patients. But Mr Reid has decided to award future contracts by open international competition. John Carvel, social affairs editor Tuesday April 6, 2004 The Guardian
• The health secretary, John Reid, has invited bids to supply the NHS with new mobile "state of the art" MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners to help cut waiting times across England, it was announced today. Diane Smith and agencies Thursday April 8, 2004
• Hospital patients forced to watch TV you can't turn off. John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday April 8, 2004 The Guardian
• The row over NHS hospital televisions that patients cannot switch off intensified yesterday after further complaints to the Guardian. A report on Thursday described how 17,500 hospital sets were installed without off switches by Patientline, a company chaired by Derek Lewis, former director general of the prison service. Patients had to watch from when the service came on automatically at 6am or 7am until it closed at 10pm. Those not wanting to pay £3.20 a day for cable TV got hospital service messages instead. Mr Lewis gave assurances that a second generation system - with an off switch - was installed in more than 80 NHS trusts. But readers with experience of the new system say the switches do not work. John Carvel, social affairs editor Saturday April 10, 2004 The Guardian
• Just six months after opening, Britain's first private walk-in casualty unit has expanded to offer day surgery services, the company announced today. Casualty Plus has opened two new operating theatres and is offering fixed price day surgery procedures at its site in Brentford, west London, because of its unexpected success. Roxanne Escobales and agencies Friday April 16, 2004
• The government has struck a groundbreaking deal with two of Britain's independent hospital chains to carry out 25,000 orthopaedic operations on patients from the NHS waiting list in England at a cost to taxpayers which slashes the normal private sector rate. John Reid, the health secretary, will today announce block contracts with Nuffield Hospitals and another UK company to provide hip and knee replacements at 40 of their operating centres across England. There will be no charge to patients. John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday April 21, 2004 The Guardian [similar to ISTCs]
• Immunisation programmes in England are at increasing risk of breaking down because of dependence on a small number of vaccine suppliers, MPs warned today. The warning follows the publication of a report by the public accounts committee, which examined the way the Department of Health (DoH) purchased vaccines such as the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab and the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis. Debbie Andalo and Press Association Tuesday April 27, 2004
• The government must end a system by which specialist hip surgeons are offered free travel and accommodation by the manufacturers of artificial joints, the all-party House of Commons public accounts committee says today. Around one in ten orthopaedic consultants accepts incentives which have "the potential to distort clinical judgment" and affect value for money in the NHS, according to the MPs. A similar proportion is using prostheses whose effectiveness has not been proven, while half the consultants in the field are doing less than one operation a week. James Meikle Wednesday May 5, 2004 The Guardian
• A high court judge today quashed attempts by Britain's largest supplier of hospital food to stop a Channel 4 programme that contains allegations of bad hygiene practices at the firm. Tillery Valley Foods, which produces 25m meals each year for NHS hospitals, was attempting to get an injunction against Channel 4 preventing the Dispatches broadcast, which is due to air on Thursday. Dominic Timms Monday May 10, 2004 (free registration for Media Guardian needed)
• Alan Milburn's aim seems reasonable at first glance (Give charities NHS role, says Milburn, May 7), but takes us ever closer to the position where government, national and local, should be out of the service provision business. The poisonous chalice for the charities is that while they now stand outside the government, complementing and stimulating statutory providers to raise their standards, once they jump into the "provider by proxy" ring they lose their power to criticise those in charge of the funding streams. Letters Tuesday May 11, 2004 The Guardian.   Several other letters also reject the proposal.
• Employment agency Nestor Healthcare announced the departure of its chief executive yesterday as it issued its third profit warning in 18 months. The company said a bold expansion of its out-of-hours GP service had been a misjudgment. Heather Stewart Friday May 14, 2004 The Guardian
• A dozen members of staff have been suspended at a NHS hospital food manufacturer after a Channel 4 documentary exposed alleged breakdowns in hygiene practices. The Dispatches programme, which used undercover footage shot at a manufacturing plant owned by Tillery Valley Foods, was the subject of an attempted high court injunction on Monday. The firm rushed to court after Shine, the production company run by Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth, refused to hand over footage shot at the plant by an undercover Peruvian journalist. Mr Justice Mann refused the injunction and told Tillery Valley it could "not assume you would get an easy ride" getting permission to appeal. The documentary poked holes in the government's recent initiative to improve the standards of hospital food, showing that many "cook-chill-reconstitute" meals were nutritionally deficient. The footage shot at Tillery Valley's Welsh plant showed an alleged breakdown in hygiene standards, including evidence of the e-coli bacteria. Friday May 14, 2004 Media Guardian (registration needed)
• The departure of New Labour health policy guru Simon Stevens has heightened debate over the role of the private sector in the NHS. John Carvel and Paul Stephenson report Wednesday May 26, 2004 The Guardian
• The news that the UnitedHealth Group, America's largest health and wellbeing company, is setting up a European arm to work with public health services, including the NHS, understandably created a flutter of anxiety. I was interested in the reactions because I'm moving from being the editor of the British Medical Journal and chief executive of the BMJ Publishing Group to be the chief executive officer of the new company - a move that thrills some and perplexes others. Might it mean that the values of the NHS will eventually be replaced by the expensive chaos of the US health system? I believe not only that United can help bolster and modernise the NHS but also that lessons learnt in Europe can be returned to the US and help create a much better health system. Richard Smith Wednesday May 26, 2004 The Guardian
• Back in 1988, a talented young trade union researcher by the name of Angela Eagle commissioned a pamphlet spelling out the dangers of importing US private healthcare disciplines into the NHS. The result was Trading Places, a passionate exposition of the perils of the market and the virtues of the British health service. "Virtually the only thing the US healthcare system does better than the NHS is foster private profits in healthcare," it says in a typical passage. Eagle went on to become a Labour MP and minister. The author of the pamphlet, Lois Quam, went on to become a shining star of the US healthcare industry, an adviser to Hilary Clinton and, according to Fortune magazine in 2003, "one of the 50 most powerful women in American business". Quam is chief executive of Ovations, a $6bn subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group specialising in services for frail elderly people, and is the executive in charge of United's push for NHS business. She has impeccable Democrat credentials. Patrick Butler Wednesday May 26, 2004 The Guardian
• Private healthcare advocates rushed to embrace a study that claimed the NHS is poor value; but its calculations haven't stood up to scrutiny. ... The 2002 study claimed that the California-based health provider Kaiser Permanente "achieved better performance at roughly the same costs as the NHS" because of superior management, technology and, most startlingly, "the benefits of competition choice".  Richard Adams Tuesday June 1, 2004 The Guardian
• What the NHS can learn from Kaiser. Letters Thursday June 3, 2004 The Guardian
• Hospital doctors have accused the government of using the concept of patient choice as a "smokescreen" to disguise its intentions to privatise the NHS. Debbie Andalo and agencies Thursday June 10, 2004
• Doctors' leaders warned yesterday of a rash of NHS hospital closures after the next election as foreign healthcare corporations scoop up more contracts to treat patients from the waiting list. The British Medical Association said the government was engaged in a covert programme to privatise the health service under the guise of giving patients more choice. As treatment switched to the foreign-owned companies, some NHS hospitals would go to the wall, senior doctors forecast. John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday June 10, 2004 The Guardian
• The health of the private sector. Letters Tuesday June 15, 2004 The Guardian
• An inquiry into the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on the NHS by the Commons select committee on health will begin this autumn. It wants to examine any conflicts between the commercial drive of the large and wealthy drug companies and the need of the NHS for well-researched medicines. Sarah Boseley Saturday June 19, 2004 The Guardian
• Alison Talbot-Smith and colleagues take me to task over the comparison between the NHS and Kaiser Permanente (Letters, June 15). Letter Tuesday June 22, 2004 The Guardian
• The NHS fraud squad launched its biggest claim for compensation from pharmaceutical companies yesterday after the discovery of an alleged price-fixing cartel that ran from 1997 to 2000. John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday June 23, 2004 The Guardian
• Other side of Kaiser. Letter Friday June 25, 2004 The Guardian
• Fake Viagra worth more than £2m was seized by officials of the government's medicines regulatory agency last year, it emerged yesterday, indicating that counterfeit drugs can breach the UK's defences through the internet. NHS patients who took their prescription to a pharmacy were in no danger from fake drugs, said the Department of Health yesterday in response to a public warning from the world's biggest drug company, Pfizer, which claimed that they could pose a real risk to patient safety. Sarah Boseley, health editor Friday June 25, 2004 The Guardian
• Start with the cleaners. Labour is winning the battle of ideas on health - but to improve hospitals it must denounce casualisation. Polly Toynbee Friday June 25, 2004 The Guardian
• Tony Blair's five-year NHS plan will offer a huge business opportunity for a US healthcare corporation with close personal links to Downing Street, it emerged yesterday. The plan includes a pledge that every primary care trust in England will adopt the approach to caring for vulnerable older people now being pioneered by the United Health group, a $28bn corporation based in Minneapolis. Last month the company recruited Simon Stevens, currently the prime minister's senior health policy adviser, to become its vice-president with a brief to expand its European business. John Carvel, social affairs editor Saturday June 26, 2004 The Guardian
• The government today unveiled a further expansion of private sector involvement in family doctor and community health services. Health minister John Hutton announced an additional investment of between £150m and £225m from the private sector to build new state-of the-art community health centres. Patients would be able to access services including GPs, health visitors, dentists, a pharmacy, a cardiology clinic, x-ray facilities, and childcare in these so-called "super-surgeries". Mr Hutton also wants the health centres to provide diagnostic tests and out-of-hours care. The new surgeries will be funded via NHS Lift (local improvement finance trust) - a £1bn public-private partnership to build new primary care premises. They will be developed by primary care trusts (PCTs) in partnership with private companies. David Batty Tuesday June 29, 2004
• NHS ancillaries (Start with the cleaners, June 25) were domestics, not cleaners. But the comfort and reassurance they brought appeared in no job description. Letters Wednesday June 30, 2004 The Guardian
• The NHS increased its reliance on the private sector yesterday by signing a deal to buy radiography scans for more than 600,000 patients over five years. Alliance Medical, a British supplier of diagnostic equipment, will do the work in 12 mobile units that will visit English hospitals . The contract, understood to be worth about £90m, will increase the NHS's capacity by 15%. Ministers believe it will help them meet new targets for reducing waiting times. John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday June 30, 2004 The Guardian
• The NHS is about to form a partnership with the retailer Boots to pioneer ways of making the health service more customer friendly. In a further act of bonding between the public and private sectors, the company has been enlisted to help to identify how services could be redesigned to make patients in England feel more satisfied. John Reid, the health secretary, will announce the deal next week at the launch of NHS Live, a year-long programme to encourage innovation in the NHS. He has signed up 350 NHS trusts for experiments to involve patients and staff in improving the "customer experience" in hospitals, health centres and social care. John Carvel, social affairs editor Saturday July 3, 2004 The Guardian
• Controversial government reforms to the health service have driven up standards and reduced waiting lists in the NHS to such an extent that consultants now face a "threat" to their private incomes, their leader has admitted. Nicholas Watt and John Carvel Saturday July 3, 2004 The Guardian
• The health secretary, John Reid, today unveiled a new partnership between the NHS and the private sector with the aim of improving patient choice and satisfaction. More than 100 NHS trusts will form public-private partnerships with six corporations, including the retailer Boots, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the makers of Viagra, and the software company Oracle. The firms will contribute about half of the £4m project costs and time and expertise of their customer relation specialists. Mr Reid said the aim of the project was to transform the NHS into "a public service built around the convenience of the individual". David Batty Wednesday July 7, 2004
• The government is considering shipping blood and urine samples from NHS patients to India for clinical tests in order to cut costs. Indian laboratory technicians can be hired for as little as £4,000 a year, and the savings would more than make up for the cost of flying samples across the world. Test results could be emailed back to UK hospitals. Heather Tomlinson Friday July 9, 2004 The Guardian
• The Department of Health is not content with pathology in the UK being the second cheapest in the EU (Scheme to process NHS clinical tests in India, July 9). Instead of investing in a service that provides 70% of the diagnoses in the NHS, it attempts to drive down costs further. Any perceived savings would, at best, be marginal and be outweighed by the increased logistic and other costs involved in dealing with a laboratory several thousand miles away. Letters Monday July 12, 2004 The Guardian
• A GP who made £100,000 from private work despite claiming he was too ill to treat NHS patients has been convicted of false accounting. Dr Michael Hodges also defrauded the NHS of nearly £30,000 by falsely by claiming a receptionist's wages for his wife. Friday July 16, 2004
• Private care for learning disabled people is a return to Victorian values, says David Brindle, public services editor Wednesday August 4, 2004 The Guardian
• A leading private hospital, the London Clinic, receives an estimated £4m in tax breaks because it is a registered charity but spends less than a tenth of that sum on charitable activity, research has uncovered. Tash Shifrin Friday August 6, 2004
• The price of prescription drugs in Britain could be slashed if Department of Health proposals are implemented, according to reports. The government has told the industry that two strategies are a 10% price cut over five years or a 6% fall over two years, according to industry magazine Scrip. Neither side was prepared to comment. Drugs companies are allowed to make a profit margin of about 15% in the UK. The NHS spends £9bn on drugs every year. Heather Tomlinson Saturday August 7, 2004 The Guardian
• Opposition parties yesterday called for improved scrutiny of links between government health advisers and drug companies amid accusations of a potential conflict of interest involving the chairman of the committee that approved the new five-in-one inoculation for infants. Michael Langman, the chairman of the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI), has declared a "non-personal interest" in Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), one of two drug companies that own the vaccine's sole supplier, because it provides "industrial support" for his work as a professor of medicine at Birmingham University. James Meikle, health correspondent Monday August 16, 2004 The Guardian
• Britain's third largest private hospitals operator, Nuffield Hospitals Group, is receiving £18.5m a year in tax breaks because of its charitable status, it has emerged.  Tash Shifrin Tuesday August 17, 2004
• A guide to private medical treatment. Saturday August 28, 2004 The Guardian
• A small company that has made the first cheap version of a schizophrenia drug has accused one of the world's giant pharmaceutical firms of trying to prevent it from being taken up across British hospitals. Clozapine is an antipsychotic drug which has helped to keep thousands of seriously mentally ill patients stable and out of hospital. The NHS spends about £55 million a year buying the drug under the brand name Clozaril from Novartis. But Denfleet, a small company, has now produced a far cheaper, generic version which it says could halve the NHS bill and allow thousands more patients to be given the treatment. It is engaged in a fierce battle over the marketing and the safety claims of the new medication. Now Denfleet's generic version of the drug, known as Denzapine, has begun to compete head on with Clozaril. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday August 29, 2004 The Observer
• A row has broken out over a new, cheaper version of a schizophrenia drug. But why, if it saves the NHS money? Margaret McCartney Tuesday August 31, 2004 The Guardian
• A millionaire businessman and advocate of private companies providing NHS services is due to face a charge of serious professional misconduct over complaints about poor care at one of his former company's nursing homes, it has emerged. The chief executive of Priory Healthcare, Chai Patel, is due to appear before the professional conduct committee of the General Medical Council (GMC) on January 31 2005. The committee has the power to strike Dr Patel off the medical register or impose restrictions on his medical practice if it believes he is guilty of gross misconduct. The complaint against him relates to allegations of neglect at Lynde House nursing home in Twickenham, Middlesex. Dr Patel was the chief executive of Westminster Health Care, which runs the home, until 2002, when he sold his shares in the company. David Batty Thursday September 2, 2004
• A US healthcare corporation with close personal links to Downing Street yesterday won the contract for revolutionising NHS cancer care in England. In May the United Health group, a $28bn (£15.8bn) company based in Minneapolis, recruited Simon Stevens, the prime minister's senior health policy adviser, as a vice-president with a brief to expand its European business. Yesterday one of the group's subsidiaries, Ovations Healthcare, landed a £6m deal to test a new approach to cancer management in nine areas of England. Melanie Johnson, the public health minister, said: "It will help us plan for the best cancer care throughout the country." John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday September 8, 2004 The Guardian
• Counterfeit medicines and imported drugs are putting lives at risk, a conference has been warned. The Patients Association organised yesterday's hastily arranged meeting in London after two batches of fake drugs were discovered in Britain - the first time this has happened for a decade. Simon Williams, the director of policy at the Patients Association, said his organisation was increasingly concerned about counterfeit medicines and the growth of unregulated internet pharmacies. John Martin Wednesday September 8, 2004
• Department of Health (DoH) officials today confirmed that patients were set to be offered operations in private hospitals as one of four or five treatment options - but said the policy had been "common knowledge" since the choice policy was first announced. Tash Shifrin Monday September 20, 2004
• The health service's heavily criticised in-house nursing agency today said it had paid out more than £5m this week to settle its debts with private recruitment agencies. A spokeswoman for NHS Professionals (NHSP) said the money was paid after it was notified of the debts by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), which represents recruiting firms. David Batty Wednesday September 29, 2004
• Today the Labour conference turns its focus on to health. Successive Tory leaders have taunted Labour for allegedly failing to restructure the NHS. Nothing could be further from the truth. The challenge facing Labour is not that it has done too little to change the NHS, but that it has done too much. Multiple reforms are now bumping into each other, exposing goals which ministers clearly wished to keep out of the spotlight. Malcolm Dean Wednesday September 29, 2004 The Guardian
• US firm gets results for NHS - but soft sell masks an expensive truth. Big corporation lobbying hard to take over UK health projects - at a price. Read the documents on United Health. David Leigh, Rob Evans and Ed Harriman Thursday September 30, 2004 The Guardian
• Tony Blair's former health adviser, Simon Stevens, has been blocked by the cabinet secretary, Sir Andrew Turnbull, from helping a giant US corporation bid for NHS contracts. David Leigh, Rob Evans and John Carvel Thursday September 30, 2004 The Guardian 
• The health secretary, John Reid, today announced the end of "cut price" NHS cleaning by private contractors as part of measures to improve cleanliness and reduce rates of MRSA. Mr Reid announced the decision to bring cleaning back into the NHS as part his speech to the Labour party conference on NHS achievements secured under New Labour's second term. Hélène Mulholland in Brighton Wednesday September 29, 2004
• The need for openness. Leader Tuesday October 5, 2004 The Guardian. Covers the corrupting influence of drug companies.
• The World Health Organisation yesterday suggested there may be an international shortage of flu vaccines this winter as medicines watchdogs suspended the British manufacturing licence of the world's second-largest supplier. The three-month ban on Chiron Vaccines' plant in Speke, Liverpool, means that the company will not supply any of its Fluvirin product during the northern hemisphere's flu season. UK health authorities say they have made alternative arrangements to make up for the loss of Chiron's near 20% share of NHS supplies, although GPs have complained that they have had to reschedule clinics because of late notice of the problems and interrupted delivery. James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday October 6, 2004 The Guardian
• America's creeping influence on our health service. Wednesday October 6, 2004 The Guardian
• Pharmaceutical firms' bitter medicine. Letters Thursday October 7, 2004 The Guardian
• The number of NHS patients being treated by the private sector will double to 500,000 a year during a third Labour term, Tony Blair disclosed yesterday. In a departure that caught the Department of Health by surprise, he promised a second wave of independent treatment centres to operate on patients from the NHS waiting list. This would increase the proportion of NHS patients being treated in the private sector to 10%, he said in his speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research. John Carvel, social affairs editor Tuesday October 12, 2004 The Guardian
• In the course of their life, the average Briton can expect to spend nearly £15,000 on looking after their teeth - if they have 'gone private'. But British teeth generally are in a mess: the average Briton has lost eight of their 32 adult teeth by the time they turn 45, according to the latest Adult Dental Health Survey. Sunday October 17, 2004 The Observer
• The UK's second largest drugs company, AstraZeneca, has angered hospitals by scrapping the price discounts on some of its drugs, therefore increasing costs for the institutions. NHS sources identified certain respiratory, cancer, gastric and anaesthetic drugs as having "bulk purchase" discounts removed or reduced by AstraZeneca this year. The issue has been raised nationally within the NHS. Breast and prostate cancer drug Zoladex and general anaesthetic Diprivan are two drugs that have had the discounts scrapped by AstraZeneca, sources said. The combined cost is not known but is likely to be in the region of tens of millions of pounds. Heather Tomlinson Thursday October 21, 2004 The Guardian
• Hundreds of contract cleaners at a hospital with one of England's worst rates of infection from the MRSA superbug are to stage a one-day strike next month, unions said today. Employers Initial Hospital Services met the Unison union officials yesterday to present a new pay offer for about 300 workers at Heartlands hospital in Birmingham. A meeting of 100 staff last night unanimously rejected the employer's latest offer. Staff voted 96% in favour of industrial action in a ballot in June. The cleaners and porters currently earn the national minimum wage of £4.85 an hour. They want the same hourly rate as their counterparts employed "in-house" by the NHS at Heartlands' sister hospital in Solihull, which pays £5.63. David Crouch and agencies Friday October 22, 2004
• One of the government's most successful initiatives to help older people is in danger of disintegrating as the NHS shifts resources into a private sector scheme promoted by a former adviser to Tony Blair, a senior Department of Health official warned yesterday. Ian Philp, the older people's tsar, said the £1.4bn programme to support such patients after an operation had dramatically reduced the number of so-called bedblockers, people who have to stay in hospital longer than is medically necessary. John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday October 29, 2004 The Guardian
• From cancelling third world debt to justice for working-class consumers, Ed Mayo is a key figure in social innovation. Just don't mention foundation trusts, says Tash Shifrin Wednesday November 3, 2004 The Guardian
• The government struck a deal with the pharmaceutical industry yesterday to save the NHS £1.8bn on branded prescription medicines over the next five years. John Reid, the health secretary, will announce the terms today, claiming they give better value for money for the taxpayer and increase security for the companies to invest in developing products in the UK. John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday November 3, 2004 The Guardian
• Commuters will be able to get free medical attention on their way to and from work at a chain of NHS walk-in centres to be built near city-centre stations, the government announced yesterday. John Hutton, the health minister, said the first seven centres would open in the spring in London, Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds at a cost of £25m over the first three years. John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday November 4, 2004
• British patients could receive new medical technology quickly under government proposals to be announced this month. A group of civil servants and representatives of the medical device industry is shortly to unveil recommendations on how they can work closer together. Health minister Lord Warner and Smith & Nephew chief executive Sir Christopher O'Donnell have led a group of private and public sector representatives over the past year. The healthcare industries taskforce is due to report later this month and will propose structural changes within the NHS that are intended to smooth the path for introducing new medical devices such as better cameras for keyhole surgery and more comfortable replacement hips. Heather Tomlinson Friday November 5, 2004 The Guardian
• John Reid, the health secretary, revealed plans yesterday for charities to take over a large slice of healthcare and social services that were previously run by the state. He said the private sector was poised to perform 15% of operations on NHS patients