Health outsourcing linked to higher mortality rate
Treatable mortality is linked to an increase in outsourcing of health services to the private for-profit sector, according to a new study by Oxford Social Policy researchers, published in the Lancet Public Health.
29 June 2022
Led by Benjamin Goodair and Dr Aaron Reeves, the study found that, since 2014, out-sourcing has been associated with an additional 557 deaths across 173 of England's clinical commissioning groups.
According to the peer-reviewed study, out-sourcing to for-profit companies consistently increased between 2013 and 2020, corresponding 'with significantly increased rates of treatable mortality, potentially as a result of a decline in the quality of health-care services'.
Benjamin Goodair says, 'This new study represents the first attempts to measure the total impact of for-profit outsourcing from England's NHS on health outcomes. While the analysis is not able to identify a causal relationship, the results suggest that the privatisation of healthcare is corresponding with worse quality care.'
Read The Guardian's coverge: NHS privatisation drive linked to rise in avoidable deaths, study suggests
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