A COURT hearing about a controversial healthcare contract switch to the private sector has taken place.
Virgin Care won the £104million contract to run the county's 0-19 Healthy Child Programme from Lancashire County Council, which includes school nurses and health visitors for children and young people, beating Lancashire Care NHS Foundation in the process.
The switch was due to take place on April 1, but Justice Peter Fraser blocked the move in the High Court after a legal challenge by by the current providers of the service, Lancashire Care and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The latest hearing about the procurement began on Monday, April 23 and was scheduled to last for four days.
A final decision about the contract could take several weeks.
The decision by Lancashire County Council prompted a fierce backlash from the Labour opposition group who branded the move ‘privatisation through the front door’.
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