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Taking the biscuit: the consultancy companies chewing up NHS resources

An investigation by The Doctor reveals that millions are being spent on private consultancy firms and creating new management jobs – to support a quiet reorganisation of the health service which lacks transparency or legislative backing. Peter Blackburn reports

Read the full story

News

The Doctor magazine

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Latest news

  • The consultation: firearms violence

    18 January 2019

    More people are killed by guns in a single day in the USA than in a whole year in the UK. Rhode Island emergency medicine physician Megan Ranney leads research into widespread firearms violence – despite pressure from gun lobbyists to stay clear

  • Dig a little deeper

    17 January 2019

    When a patient has a personality disorder, it can seem easier to worsen their condition than to treat it. Leading psychoanalyst Peter Fonagy tells Keith Cooper the steps he believes can help achieve better outcomes

  • I've been expecting you

    16 January 2019

    Every emergency department has ‘familiar faces’, people regularly drawn in who receive little medical benefit. Addressing the reasons why doesn’t just save the NHS money, it yields insights into vulnerable patients, finds Keith Cooper

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Latest blogs

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Long reads

  • Childs play matt, Separated at birth, The effect of poor access to mental healthcare during pregnancy

    Born of injustice

    Separated at Birth junior doctor and mother of two is back in family court, under very different circumstances.

  • Holding hands, Separated at birth, The effect of poor access to mental healthcare during pregnancy

    Separated at birth

    The impact of poor access to mental healthcare during pregnancy.

  • Nikki-Mattocks, To be used in connection with: Talking therapies, Waiting games, Mental health

    Waiting games

    Nikki Mattocks has struggled with her mental health her whole life, owing to experiences such as bullying, trauma and abuse. Read her story here.

  • Destination integration? Big on inspiration, short on legislation – the 'quiet revolution' in the NHS

    An end to market madness?

    Quietly, the NHS is being reorganised by health leaders but the pace of change is being forced by frontline services buckling under pressure of increased demand and diminishing resources.

  • Patient using mobile phone in emergency - manc160915

    When a doctor calls for help

    Dr Meng Aw-Yong explores the impact of a GMC investigation and where doctors can turn for support.

  • Health clinic in Zambia supported by The Virtual Doctors – one of the charities highlighted on a recent Shorthand piece we’ve done about doctor volunteering.

    Care across boundaries

    How volunteering in the UK and abroad benefits doctors and the countries that host them.

  • Shot of passenger aircraft/airliner in sky

    Enjoy your elective

    Follow these medical students and their elective journeys in Malta, Australia, New Zealand, the Himalayan region of India, and at home in the UK.

  • A man scrolls on a tablet

    BMA digital features

    Read our digital features and become immersed in the real-life stories of doctors and medical students.

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Media centre

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Media Centre

Press releases

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Doctors' notes - a BMA podcast

Listen each month to doctors sharing their stories and experiences on different themes.

Hear the latest episode

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