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.

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 full story on ox.ac.uk

Read The Guardian's coverge: NHS privatisation drive linked to rise in avoidable deaths, study suggests