Dr Foster

Dr Foster Intelligence is a provider of healthcare information in the United Kingdom, monitoring the performance of the National Health Service and providing information to the public. It was launched in February 2006 and is owned by Telstra. Dr Foster aims to improve the quality and efficiency of health and social care. It monitors the performance of the National Health Service and provides information to the public. In 2010, the Dr Foster 2010 Hospital Guide was launched in the Observer newspaper and on the BBC.

In 2006, the UK Department of Health (DoH) paid £12m for a stake in Dr Foster Intelligence, a new joint venture with Dr Foster LLP. The following year, a House of Commons committee raised serious concerns about the legality of the acquisition, describing it as a “hole and corner deal".

The main people at the time were Tim Kelsey (Chair) and Jake Arnold-Forster (CEO). A 'gag deal' was negotiated in connection with whistle-blower Denise Lievesley's departure from the NHS Information Centre.

According to the Guardian, Lievesley "protested ... when a contract ... was awarded to Dr Foster without (in her view) proper procurement procedures. She was eased out of her job, with a gagging clause preventing her from telling her side of the story."

In February 2007, the UK's National Audit Office published a report raising serious concerns about the joint venture. The National Audit Office was prompted to investigate by "a letter from an anonymous whistleblower who expressed concern about the legality of the joint venture". The report concluded that the DoH failed to go through proper procedures and could not show value for money from the acquisition.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee also released a highly critical report on the deal in June 2007. The Committee noted concerns that Dr Foster’s operation had been valued at between £10m and £15m, yet the DoH paid £12m for a 50% share of the joint venture company, Dr Foster Intelligence.

Committee chair Edward Leigh was reported as saying: “By pursuing its back room deal with Dr Foster LLP, the Department of Health failed in its duty to be open to Parliament and the taxpayer.” He added that Treasury guidance on joint ventures between public and private sectors was ignored – instead the deal was “handed to Dr Foster on a plate”.

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