The collapse of Carillion two years ago should have sounded the death knell for the outsourcing of government contracts.
The consequences of the firm’s mismanagement and greed are still being felt today.
A National Audit Office report says that two hospitals Carillion was contracted to build in Liverpool and Birmingham will now not be opened until 2022 – five years late.
To add insult to injury, the cost of the projects has spiralled by £600million. This is bad news for patients and taxpayers.
Two years on from Carillion’s collapse nothing has changed.
The Government is still wedded to privatisation and outsourcing despite clear evidence that they neither offer value for money nor lead to greater efficiency.
And unscrupulous bosses are still making excess profits from government contracts.
Carillion’s directors were able to walk away after pocketing millions in pay and bonuses while thousands lost their jobs, suppliers were left unpaid and taxpayers were shortchanged.
Unless the Government tightens the rules and ends its obsession with outsourcing then this will surely happen again.
Sepsis shock
Doctors dub sepsis the “hidden killer”, one that is becoming more prevalent.
There are nearly 50,000 deaths from sepsis a year in the UK. This is primarily down to the pressures on the NHS.
Our overstretched and overcrowded hospitals are at greater risk of infection outbreaks and the need for bed space means patients are often discharged too early.
A first-world country should be able to provide a first-rate healthcare system.
The fact that we are not is not only shameful, it is costing lives.
It’s moos to us
Pull the udder one. Scientists in Australia say that cows really do chew the cud and can talk to each other.
Apparently, they like to have a good old beef about the weather.
