Private Healthcare Article roundup from Social Investigations

This is a roundup of the research articles that link the Health and Social Care Act to the public servants who are meant to represent our interests. The research has covered their connections to the private healthcare companies, and individual research of particular Lords and MPs. This is an ongoing process, which will carry on until the elections, when those Parliamentarians who voted for an expansion of privatisation into the NHS, will be held accountable.

1. The Lords - The investigation into the registered interests of the House of Lords members has revealed serious flaws in our democracy whereby Lords who have outside financial interests are allowed to vote on a bill that may benefit them. 

The investigation into the registered interests of the House of Lords members has revealed serious flaws in our democracy whereby Lords who have outside financial interests are allowed to vote on a bill that may benefit them. Full article.

Conservatives: 1 in 4 – see full list 

Liberal Democrats: 1 in 10 – see full list 

Labour: 1 in 6 – see full list 

Crossbench: 1 in 6 – see full list

2. Special Report | Selling the NHS: how parliament and the healthcare industry got cosy - examines the network of vested interests that runs between Parliament and the private healthcare industry. This cosy, toxic relationship, he warns, threatens not only the future of the NHS but that of democracy in the UK. This article appeared in Ceasefire magazine.

3. Lord Hamilton: Complaint upheld: A complaint made to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards on a Conservative Lord who failed to declare his interests has been upheld. Full article.

4. Into the heart of government: Key health group have four key members of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Health have financial links to companies involved in private healthcare, and discussions are held in private. Full article.

 5. Meet Lord Chadlington: He's about to vote on the Health and Social Care bill – Lord Chadlington has funded the Conservative party, and David Cameron’s leadership campaign. He has four Lords connected to his company, which is heavily involved in private healthcare communications. None of which, prevented him from voting on the Health and Social Care bill. Full article.

6. BBC chief Lord Patten of Barnes: Bridgepoint and the Conflicts of Interest. Lord Patten, the current head of the BBC has direct links to a company heavily involved in private healthcare. Lord Patten of Barnes is a member of the European Advisory Board for a private equity investment company called Bridgepoint. Full article.

7. Letter sent to the BBC on NHS coverage

Dear Ms Boaden.

I am writing in relation to the BBC coverage of the NHS Health and Social Care bill, that has now become an Act.

As an organisation that has huge resources, I am curious to know whether you had thought to invest time and money into uncovering some of the vested interests of our parliamentarians in private health care? Furthermore, why, when Andrew Lansley has been outed as having been bankrolled by the chairman of CareUK, was this not raised with him whenever he spoke of the bill? Surely every reasoning he gave as a justification for the bill should be linked to his healthcare financial supporters. Read full letter.

8. National Clinical Commissioning Conference Links Multiple Private Health Companies to Lords and MPs - A national conference for CCG leaders to air their ‘concerns’ over the implementation of clinical commissioning, is littered with companies who have financial links to Lords and MPs. The event, which is titled ‘Defining Our Future’, is sponsored by Capita, a private company winning contracts for developing the CCGs. Read full article. 

 

9. Finalists of Private Healthcare Award Ceremony raise glasses with Lords and MPs: An annual award ceremony, promoting the ‘excellence’ and ‘innovation’ of the independent healthcare sector is taking place in London, Thursday, the 31st of May. However, on close inspection, the finalists of this year’s event are notable for their connections to our so-called public servants, many of whom played some part in passing the Health and Social Care bill into an Act. Read Full article.

10. I keep saying ‘we’, but I’m not really part of the industry anymore, but I still feel it.’ When is an MP a spokesperson for big business, and when is big business an MP? If you can’t tell the difference, then you’re not alone, because some MPs are not so sure themselves. Read full article.

11. Baroness who ran private business interests from Lord Office positions her company to gain from NHS reforms: Baroness Cumberlege, one of the 141 peers exposed as having financial links to companies involved in private healthcare put her company into a position whereby it could make money from the reforms as she debated them in the House of Lords. Read full article.

12. Russia Today: Wealthcare: A bill restructuring the UK health service has been passed by parliament in spite of mass protests against the controversial reforms. Opposition accuses MPs of pandering to private interests, signing the death warrant of free healthcare in the UK.