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While there has been general acceptance of the private sector providing support services in public hospitals, there has been much greater resistance to its involvement in the provision of clinical services. In the early 1990s, some of the Australian states did sign PPP contracts for the development of public hospitals which included private clinical services, but these experiments have not continued. Hospital PFIs in the United Kingdom have not included clinical services, although the private sector has increasingly been involved in the provision of clinical services as the government has encouraged the development of Independent Treatment Centres. Over the years, the private sector has often provided para-clinical services such as pathology and radiology to the NHS.
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| Independent Sector Treatment Centres: Evidence So Far (PDF) |
| Pollock, Allyson M and Godden, Sylvia, 2008 |
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A paper assessing the evidence on ISTC performance in the first two waves of the programme. It found that due to a lack of data collected or provided by the Department of Health it was not possible to determine any changes in value for money or quality of care.
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| UK |
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| ISTCs and the NHS: Sticking Plaster or Real Reform? (PDF) |
| Confederation of British Industry, 2008 |
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| This report examines the record of Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs), the elective and diagnostic care units encouraged by the UK government. It finds that ISTCs are an NHS success story and that changing NHS behaviour and expanding patient choice will bring further benefits. |
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| UK |
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| Just What The Patient Ordered: Better GP Services (PDF) |
| Confederation of British Industry (CBI), 2007 |
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| The CBI report sets out recommendations to General Practioners for patient choice, better GP services and improvements across the NHS, outlining the need for an effective, responsive and properly funded National Healh Service and states that in order for GP service improvements to be made, patients must be in the driving seat. |
| ISBN: 978-0-85201-670-1 |
| UK |
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| Independent Sector Treatment Centres (PDF) |
| House of Commons Health Committee, 2006 |
| The Stationery Office |
This House of Common Health Committee Report investigates the benefits gained for the Department of Health after the first phase of contracting out operations to Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs). In addition to investigating public concern surrounding ISTCs, it also seeks lessons for the Government to take on board for future phases and reforms.
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| HC 934-I |
| UK |
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| The Provision of Out-of-Hours Care in England (PDF) |
| National Audit Office (NAO), 2006 |
| The Stationery Office |
| This report examines the Department for Health's progress in providing high-quality out-of-hours services. In particular it looks at the effect of General Medical Services contracts, which allowed GPs to opt out of the responsibility of organising out-of-hours care entirely from 1 April 2004. It finds that there is considerable room for improvement but that services are getting better. This report was followed by the PAC report of the same name, which is also available on the Resource Centre. |
| HC 1041 |
| UK |
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| Medical Services: New Arrangements for Radiology at Sydney University |
| Jensen, Paul with Hall, Christine , 1995 |
| Domberger, Simon & Hall, Christine (eds), Australian Government Publishing Service, pp.87-97 |
| This chapter from the Contracting Casebook examines competitive tendering in action at Sydney University's radiology unit. |
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| Australia |
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