Category: NHS

Reckless Procurement Revealed in Explosive Court Case

by Helen Rennie-Smith, posted in Corruption, Lies, NHS

On Tuesday, the same day that the National Audit Office finds that the Government lacked detailed contingency plans for a pandemic, the High Court started hearing a case against Matt Hancock.

It is the Good Law Project and EveryDoctor that have challenged the Health Secretary over the Government’s unlawful procurement of PPE contracts. The previous weekend EveryDoctor projected the question “What’s the plan, Matt?” in giant illuminated script on buildings across London, the Department of Health among others.

There are many explosive revelations expected during this week’s hearing. Jolyon Maugham, director of the Good Law Project, lists a few facts which were revealed during the first two days:

  • Government paid tens of millions of pounds to PestFix and Ayanda Capital for face masks which did not meet NHS standards.
  • Government prioritised companies because of who they knew and not what they could deliver.
  • The banks were so concerned about Government’s lack of due diligence on companies who had been handed huge contracts that they halted payments.

“The British public will want to know why companies that had little or no history of manufacturing or procurement won massive contracts, and why many of these companies were seemingly fast-tracked in so-called VIP lanes to the top of the bidding pile,” says Dr Julia Patterson, CEO of EveryDoctor.

Government Breaks NHS Promise

by Helen Rennie-Smith, posted in Brexit, Lies, NHS

Time and time again during the election campaign of 2019 the Conservative Party assured us that the NHS is not for sale. In March 2020, when the UK started trade negotiations with the US, Prime Minister Johnson declared that the NHS was not on the table.

Yet less than a year later American owned Operose Health has taken over a large number of GP surgeries in greater London causing concerns in for instance Maida Vale, Croydon and Brent and is now the UK’s largest provider of primary care.

It is also notable that the Government recently appointed Samantha Jones as an expert advisor for NHS transformation. Ms Jones was previously a chief executive of Operose Health.

For Everybody to See

by Helen Rennie-Smith, posted in Corruption, Lies, NHS, Principles of Democracy

“The contracts are there on record for everybody to see,” said the Prime Minister. Except for the 100 he’d forgotten about.

19 February 2021
The High Court rules that the Health Secretary acted unlawfully by not publishing contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

22 February 2021
The Prime Minister assured us that all was there to see.

5 March 2021
The High Court confirmed that out of 708 contracts there were still 100 unpublished.

Yet another example of how the Government misleads Parliament and the public.

The BBC keeps a timeline of the Government’s procurement of PPE during the pandemic.

Questionable Answers

by Helen Rennie-Smith, posted in Lies, NHS

At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday Sir Keir Starmer asked Boris Johnson: “If he so determined to cut NHS pay, will he at least show some courage and put it to a vote in this Parliament?”

Mr Johnson replied: “The last time that we put this to a vote, the right hon. and learned Gentleman voted against it.”

A statement which is simply not true.

Source: Hansard, 10 March 2021