Dr Foster is a provider of healthcare information in the United Kingdom, monitoring the performance of the National Health Service and providing information to the public.[1] In 2010, the Dr Foster 2010 Hospital Guide was launched in the Observer newspaper [1] and on the BBC [2].
In 2006, the UK Department of Health paid £12m for a stake in a new joint venture with Dr Foster, Dr Foster Intelligence. 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". [2][3]
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.[3]
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."[4]
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In 2006 Dr Foster Intelligence was launched as a joint venture between the UK Department of Health and Dr Foster Holdings. The company states, "Our innovative products, services and resources enable both providers and commissioners of healthcare to benchmark and monitor the quality and efficiency of health services" [4]. The Department of Health paid Dr Foster £12m for a 50% stake in the new company. [5] In November 2010, it was announced that Dr Foster Intelligence would be marketed for sale. [6]
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" [7]. The report concluded that the Department of Health failed to go through proper procedures and could not show value for money from the acquisition [8].
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. [9]
Committee chair Edward Leigh MP 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”. [10]
The Dr Foster Unit at Imperial College London was established in 2000 within the Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care, part of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. The unit is funded through a grant from Dr Foster Intelligence and also receive funding from the Centre for Patient Safety and Service Quality (CPSSQ) and Centre for Infection Prevention and Management (CIPM).[11]