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competition panel drops 'preferred provider' case

Case Rendered Obselete by Department of Health

Today the Co-operation and Competition Panel decided not to continue investigating the case ACEVO brought to the panel regarding the conduct of Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT in response to Andy Burnham's speech on "the NHS as preferred provider". Their decision (detailed here) was taken after the Department of Health pulled the plug on the process Great Yarmouth were going through at the last minute, ordering the PCT to review its plans and thus rendering ACEVO's case against those plans obsolete. We were under the strong impression that up until this point the Panel had planned to rule in our favour and continue its investigations.  

A Missed Opportunity for Clarity

On the one hand we can only be pleased that a procurement process that was anti-competitive and 'NHS only' has been pulled. On the other, the way in which we reached this end point (a murky backroom deal by the DH) has pre-empted what was likely to be a clear message from the Competition Panel to other NHS commissioners that 'preferred provider' is in effect to be ignored and does not entitle them to prefer the NHS over other sectors. It is therefore a missed opportunity for clarity for commissioners and providers, and a deliberate attempt by the Departmnet to avoid the inevitable embarrassment for the Secretary of State that would have ensued.

Freedom of Information Requests

In the short term, ACEVO is therefore submitting a number of Freedom of Information requests to the Department of Health and the Competition Panel to shed light on the backroom dealings that led to this decision.

Campaigning for a More Independent Body

In the longer term, this episode amply demonstrates that the Competition Panel does not have the independence or the teeth to prevent blatantly anti-competitive conduct in NHS procurement. ACEVO will therefore be campaigning for a stronger and more independent body, starting by writing today to the Secretary of State for Health and his Conservative and Liberal Democrat counterparts.

You can read coverage of the Panel's decision to drop ACEVO's case in the FT, Health Service Journal, and Third Sector here: FT (1), FT (2), FT (3), Third Sector (1), Third Sector (2), HSJ (1), HSJ (2). 

For more information, contact Ralph Michell on ralph.michell@acevo.org.uk.