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| Circle in talks to exit private contract to run Hinchingbrooke hospital | Circle in talks to exit private contract to run Hinchingbrooke hospital |
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| A politically charged hand grenade has been thrown into the general election debate on the NHS after the healthcare company Circle said it planned to pull out of its contract to manage Britain’s first privately run hospital, Hinchingbrooke in Cambridgeshire. | A politically charged hand grenade has been thrown into the general election debate on the NHS after the healthcare company Circle said it planned to pull out of its contract to manage Britain’s first privately run hospital, Hinchingbrooke in Cambridgeshire. |
| The news came as A&E performance across the NHS in England sank to a record low last week with just 79.8% of patients treated within four hours over the new year break. The NHS constitution states that 95% of all A&E patients should be dealt with within four hours. | |
| Circle Holdings issued a statement to the London Stock Exchange blaming funding cuts, a surge in demand for accident and emergency services and a failure to deliver “joined-up” reform between health and social services. It said the company had entered into discussions with the NHS Trust Development Authority “with the view to ensuring an orderly withdrawal from the current contract”. | |
| The company said that funding for Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust had been cut by about 10% for the current financial year and that the company had spent £4.84m to support the trust. Circle is allowed to withdraw from the contract if it spends more than £5m. | The company said that funding for Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust had been cut by about 10% for the current financial year and that the company had spent £4.84m to support the trust. Circle is allowed to withdraw from the contract if it spends more than £5m. |
| Conditions had worsened in recent weeks and that its franchise to operate the trust was not sustainable, it added. | Conditions had worsened in recent weeks and that its franchise to operate the trust was not sustainable, it added. |
| A report by the Care Quality Commission new regime is expected to be highly critical of the hospital. The Circle statement said the report’s conclusions, which follow a preliminary report last year, would be unbalanced and that it would contest many of them. In preliminary findings released in September, the CQC reported that patients at the hospital were being neglected, hygiene was inadequate and Hinchingbrooke was facing staffing problems. | A report by the Care Quality Commission new regime is expected to be highly critical of the hospital. The Circle statement said the report’s conclusions, which follow a preliminary report last year, would be unbalanced and that it would contest many of them. In preliminary findings released in September, the CQC reported that patients at the hospital were being neglected, hygiene was inadequate and Hinchingbrooke was facing staffing problems. |
| Steve Melton, Circle’s chief executive, said in a statement: “Like most hospitals, over the past year, Hinchingbrooke saw unprecedented A&E attendances and not enough care places for healthy patients awaiting discharge. | Steve Melton, Circle’s chief executive, said in a statement: “Like most hospitals, over the past year, Hinchingbrooke saw unprecedented A&E attendances and not enough care places for healthy patients awaiting discharge. |
| “At the same time, our funding has been cut. We also believe that inconsistent and conflicting regulatory regimes compound the challenge for acute hospitals in this environment. This combination of factors means we have now reluctantly concluded that, in its existing form, Circle’s involvement in Hinchingbrooke is unsustainable.” | “At the same time, our funding has been cut. We also believe that inconsistent and conflicting regulatory regimes compound the challenge for acute hospitals in this environment. This combination of factors means we have now reluctantly concluded that, in its existing form, Circle’s involvement in Hinchingbrooke is unsustainable.” |
| The developments will come as a severe blow to the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, as he fights Labour claims that the Tories are so determined to increase privatisation of the NHS that they risk undermining its principles. In 2012, Hinchingbrooke became the first NHS trust to be run by a private company after ministers described it as a “financial and clinical basket case”. | The developments will come as a severe blow to the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, as he fights Labour claims that the Tories are so determined to increase privatisation of the NHS that they risk undermining its principles. In 2012, Hinchingbrooke became the first NHS trust to be run by a private company after ministers described it as a “financial and clinical basket case”. |
| But the statement by Circle Holdings goes to the centre of many of the issues highlighted by Labour as it seeks to place the NHS at the heart of the election debate. Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, called on ministers to provide urgent reassurances that services will continue at the hospital as he criticised the government for negotiating a “risky” business model. The statement by Burnham was carefully phrased – and lacked his usual robust language attacking the government – because Labour knows it is vulnerable to the charge that it set in train the process that allowed Hinchingbrooke to become Britain’s first privately run hospital. | |
| Burnham said: “Patients who rely on Hinchingbrooke will be worried about their hospital following this announcement and ministers must provide urgent reassurance and set out a plan to ensure the continuity of services at the hospital in this uncertain time. It was the decision of the coalition in November 2011 to appoint Circle and they must take responsibility for this mess. | |
| “The government were explicitly warned two years ago about the risky business model Circle were operating, but failed to take any action. Given that these risks were known at the outset, ministers must explain why they judged Circle a safe choice to run this hospital. They must also set out today how long they have known about the problems at Hinchingbrooke.” | |
| Burnham would like to focus attention on the coalition’s decision to pick Circle to run Hinchingbrooke and on the deal that was agreed after it was named the preferred bidder in November 2010. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt points out that Circle won the contract under a process that began under the last government. Circle was disclosed as the preferred bidder in November 2010, six months after the general election. | |
| Labour also says that the winter crisis in the NHS, during which a series of hospitals has declared major incidents amid intense pressure on A&E services, has been caused in part by the failure to combine health and social services. Labour says hospitals are facing huge pressures in part because of the cuts in social service care for elderly people. Labour has called for the NHS and social services to be combined. | Labour also says that the winter crisis in the NHS, during which a series of hospitals has declared major incidents amid intense pressure on A&E services, has been caused in part by the failure to combine health and social services. Labour says hospitals are facing huge pressures in part because of the cuts in social service care for elderly people. Labour has called for the NHS and social services to be combined. |
| Circle’s statement said: “We believe that solving the problems facing Hinchingbrooke can only be achieved through joined-up reform in Cambridgeshire across hospitals, GPs and community services. We fully support the vision of NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens’s Five Year Forward View, but these proposed reforms are too far into the future. If reform in the region develops fast and a new role for us does become clear, we are happy to play our full part.” | Circle’s statement said: “We believe that solving the problems facing Hinchingbrooke can only be achieved through joined-up reform in Cambridgeshire across hospitals, GPs and community services. We fully support the vision of NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens’s Five Year Forward View, but these proposed reforms are too far into the future. If reform in the region develops fast and a new role for us does become clear, we are happy to play our full part.” |