Profile: Alan Milburn – Former health secretary, now with Bridgepoint Capital

Alan Milburn was the Labour Health Secretary from the 11th of October 1999 until the 13th of June 2003.

Some readers may find it interesting that he is now with a company called Bridgepoint Capital. Bridgepoint Capital is a private equity investor, with investments in many sectors. One particularly interesting endeavour, is their investment in Care UK - one of the biggest "Private Providers" currently working for the NHS.

If you've called NHS 111 lately, the chances are it was an employee of Care UK who answered the phone, and they may even have directed you to attend an "Out Of Hours" appointment at a clinic provided by Care UK - although it's likely that at no time you will have been aware that you were being treated by the private sector. Indeed, Care UK have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons and here.

At KOSHH, we think it's not right and proper for someone who has been involved in shaping government policy on the NHS to then go on to work for a company who has a vested interest in winning business from the NHS.

Below is a screenshot from Bridgepoint's website, telling you all about Alan Milburn:

And another screenshot from the same website, telling you about their acquisition of Care UK.

Note particularly the trumpeting of "favourable trends in healthcare outsourcing".

Remember that clinical services in the NHS were not "outsourced" (i.e. privatised) prior to the Blair/Brown government.

http://www.bridgepoint.eu/en/investment-portfolio/care-uk/

 

This article will be updated over time, so do check back later.