This morning’s announcement by Circle that it will be leaving the contract to run Hinchingbrooke Hospital makes it even more difficult politically for anyone who believes in greater competition in the NHS to make their case.
Opponents of private sector involvement in healthcare provision will say – with good reason – that this shows you cannot trust anyone other than the public sector to stick with a hospital in the tough times. Proponents will point out that ultimately providers leaving is better than entrenched failure. But in a way Circle needed to perform in a way that was atypical of the market: I had to succeed and it had to sty the course of its contract. That it hasn’t puts back the case for markets in the health sector by a very long way.
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