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NHS privatisation linked to 557 ‘treatable’ deaths in five years

Oxford University researchers found relative spend on outsourcing was associated with deaths from certain illnesses

By Chaminda Jayanetti
NHS privatisation linked to 557 ‘treatable’ deaths in five years
A protest against the 2021 Health and Care Bill, whose 2012 predecessor has been linked to increased spend on outsourcing and associated 'treatable' deaths in a new study by Oxford University
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NHS privatisation was connected to more than 500 deaths from treatable diseases in England over five years, “devastating” new research by Oxford University has concluded.

The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and published in The Lancet journal today, is billed as the first full assessment of NHS privatisation in the wake of Andrew Lansley’s 2012 Health and Social Care Act, which encouraged more outsourcing.

The researchers measured how much NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across England spent on outsourcing from 2013 to 2020, and compared it with how many people died from ‘treatable’ illnesses – meaning deaths considered avoidable with effective healthcare.

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