MPs slam NHS outsourcing of primary care support services to Capita

NHS England’s outsourcing of primary care support services to Capita Business Services was a shambles and put lives at risk, the Public Accounts Committee has said.

In a highly critical report titled Supporting Primary Care Services: NHS England’s contract with Capita, MPs on the committee said a “short-sighted rush to slash by a third the £90m it cost to provide these services was heedless of the impact it would have on the 39,000 GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists affected”.

Neither NHS England nor Capita understood the service that was being outsourced, and both misjudged the risks, the report said, noting basic rules of contracting were ignored and too little done once problems became evident.

“Rather than focussing on improving the service, NHS England and Capita have spent too long disputing basic elements of the contract and are still in disagreement over future payments,” the report said.

“It is clear that NHS England ignored the many lessons this committee has constantly highlighted about how to outsource effectively and benefit both users and taxpayers.”

Committee chair, Labour’s Meg Hillier, said: “NHS England made a complete mess of what could have been a responsible measure to save taxpayers’ money, [it] needs to rethink its approach to outsourcing and invest time in getting its contracts right.

“That means listening to concerns from the frontline and properly considering the impact changes will have on services and public health.”

A Capita spokesperson said: “Capita has apologised for unacceptable failings in relation to the initial delivery of this contract.

“We are now meeting the vast majority of key performance targets, and have put in place a new governance arrangement with NHS England to ensure improvement continues.”

NHS England has been contacted for comment.

Mark Smulian