NHS Scotland in takeover by US health giant

THE astonishing and largely hidden influence of an American private healthcare giant at the heart of Scotland's NHS can be exposed today.

Under SNP health governance that every health board in Scotland has signed a contract with the US private health company, IHI.

Boston-based multinational Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has been paid millions of pounds in public money to introduce sweeping reforms across Scottish hospitals.

Mr Feeley had to be granted special permission from then First Minister Alex Salmond and Permanent Secretary Sir Peter Housden, head of the civil service in Scotland, in order to take up his new role in August 2013.

Mr Feeley resigned to join IHI in April 2013, with a glowing reference from then Health Secretary Alex Neil, just weeks after it emerged he had put pressure on Audit Scotland to water down a report on problems with hospital waiting times.

A career civil servant, who also served as Principal Private Secretary to First Minister Jack McConnell, he retains a gold-plated Scottish Government pension worth £1.1million. His new salary has not been disclosed, although IHI paid out £17million in wages and other benefits to its 140 staff last year.

Mr Feeley had to be granted special permission from then First Minister Alex Salmond and Permanent Secretary Sir Peter Housden, head of the civil service in Scotland, in order to take up his new role in August 2013.
IHI has contracts with with private healthcare providers across the USA, and also operates in England, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, India, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, Chile and Colombia.

It was founded by Professor Berwick, who went on to become Barack Obama's head of the Medicare programme and later carried out a review of patient safety in English hospitals.



Jason Leitch was a 2005-2006 quality improvement fellow at the Institute of Health Improvement in Boston in United States. He is now a senior fellow at IHI. This is the American company awarded SNHS contracts by British Government.

In December 2011, Mr Feeley - then still in charge of the Scottish NHS - was a keynote speaker at the Florida conference, alongside the Hollywood actor Michael J Fox.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/559733/NHS-Scotland-in-takeover-by-US-health-giant