WIREDGOV

Monitor has launched an investigation into the way a healthcare provider was selected for elective care services at a treatment centre in North East London.

Care UK Clinical Services Ltd has complained about how Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge, Havering, and Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Groups (the CCGs) selected Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust to operate the North East London NHS Treatment Centre.

The centre provides patients with a range of planned care services, such as general surgery, ophthalmology and ear, nose and throat.

Care UK’s complaint also covers the proposed pricing arrangements for providing those services.

The health regulator will examine whether the CCGs’ arrangements to select a provider of these services were in the best interests of patients, in accordance with the NHS rules on procurement, choice and competition. It will also look at whether rules for determining how prices are set for certain NHS services were followed.

Monitor will now gather and review information from Care UK Clinical Services Ltd, the CCGs and other relevant organisations before deciding how to proceed.

Catherine Davies, Executive Director of Co-operation and Competition at Monitor said:

This complaint raises important questions for patients about how elective services are commissioned and paid for.

Our investigation is at an early stage and we have not yet reached a view as to whether there has been any breach of the rules. We are now seeking further information from the organisations involved.

Monitor will publish further information about the nature of the complaint and the scope of its investigation in due course.