How the NHS backlog fuelled a private equity gold rush in UK health market Healthcare Private equity firms are circling the UK’s healthcare market as NHS backlogs push a wave of patients towards private providers, experts have said. Britain’s biggest private hospital operator, Spire Healthcare, which operates 38 private hospitals, on Sunday agreed to a £1bn takeover by Toscafund Asset Management. Earlier this year, private healthcare property firm Assura agreed [...]
Andy Burnham confirms Westminster run as Wes Streeting resigns from government Politics Andy Burnham has declared his intention to stand in a by-election after a sitting Labour MP quit to make way for him. The current Mayor of Manchester will seek permission from Labour’s ruling body to stand in the Makerfield constituency after Josh Simons announced he would vacate the seat. In a statement, Burnham said: “Millions [...]
London launches ‘world-first’ care AI lab to tackle NHS pressures Tech A new AI lab focused on the care sector is being launched in London with government backing, as the UK looks to scale homegrown healthtech and turn NHS innovation into exportable products. Cera said it is making an eight-figure investment into the facility, which will bring together AI specialists and a cohort of “entrepreneurs in [...]
Reeves criticised over lack of action on ballooning clinical negligence costs in Budget November 27, 2025 A leading medical defence organisation has criticised the Chancellor for missing the opportunity to tackle the ‘eye-watering’ NHS clinical negligence bill. In a statement following the Budget, Tom Reynolds, director of policy and communications at Medical Defence Union (MDU), explained that the “current system has led to legal fees ballooning to nearly four times the [...]
The company using AI to keep workers away from NHS waiting rooms October 16, 2025 Simplyhealth has pledged to be a solution to the UK’s productivity crisis, linking rising corporate sick leave, which costs Britain’s economy an estimated £150bn annually, to the NHS’s long backlog of treatments. The health insurer is turning to agentic AI to scale its services, hoping to keep employees healthy and at their desks rather than [...]