Report condemns ‘flawed’ reasoning for increasing NHS competition

A new report has raised concerns that efforts to increase competition and expand the choice of services in the NHS are based on flawed reasoning.

Queen Mary, University of London has published a study that calls into question a paper by Zack Cooper and colleagues – cited by the government in support of the current NHS reform programme – which suggested that heart attack patients who have a greater choice of elective surgery options enjoy better outcome rates.

According to the new report, this study did not do enough to demonstrate why this link may have occurred, failing to factor in how the level of choice affected patient decisions or GP referral rates, as well as the numerous exceptional circumstances associated with elective treatments for an emergency condition.

As such, research leader Professor Allyson Pollock called the Cooper analysis "fundamentally flawed", adding: "This work should not be quoted as scientific evidence to support choice, competition or the new Health and Social Care Bill."

The British Medical Association has already voiced its disapproval of the controversial new reform efforts and is lobbying the House of Lords in an effort to block the bill's progress.