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NHS competition puts survival of social enterprises at risk, says think tank

BMJ 2011; 343 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4974 (Published 03 August 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d4974
  1. Helen Mooney
  1. 1London

Increasing competition in the NHS under the government’s new proposals to open up contracts to “any qualified provider” risks putting social enterprise schemes out of business, warns a new report from the healthcare think tank the King’s Fund.

The report says that an increasingly competitive NHS marketplace for healthcare providers, including short term contracts for fledgling social enterprises, presents major risks for their survival. It says that the government must continue to offer legal and financial support to fledgling social enterprises if the sector is to grow.

It recommends that NHS commissioners offer longer term contracts to enable social enterprise providers to establish themselves in a more competitive environment.

Rachael Addicott, the report’s …

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