A foundation trust’s acquisition of a practice in Sunderland will not create conflicts of interest, the Cooperation and Competition Panel (CCP) has ruled.
The integrated care organisation pilot will see City Hospitals Sunderland acquire the Church View medical practice to create a ‘vertically integrated’ healthcare system.
Organisations including the NHS Alliance have expressed concern that such a merger would represent ‘market capture’ - effectively enabling the foundation trust to generate cash by referring to itself.
But the CCP has said that the proposed merger will not breach current competition rules.
In his statement, director Andrew Taylor admitted there was a “risk… that those GPs will have an incentive to refer patients to their employing hospital”.
Read more at Healthcare Republic.
Tags: Foundation trusts, Integrated care
