{"id":83624,"date":"2017-08-23T11:06:17","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T11:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=b86b76fcf9d37adc834a6c67b78cc9f9"},"modified":"2017-08-23T11:06:17","modified_gmt":"2017-08-23T11:06:17","slug":"press-release-competition-concerns-found-in-adult-mental-health-care-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=83624","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Competition concerns found in adult mental health care merger"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Universal Health Services, Inc. \u2013 through its subsidiary Cygnet Health Care Limited (Cygnet) \u2013 acquired Cambian Adult Services (CAS<\/abbr>) in December 2016. Both companies operate hospitals that provide inpatient rehabilitation services to patients suffering from long-term mental illness.<\/p>\n

Rehabilitation services provide patients suffering from a variety of mental illnesses with ongoing support as they recover. Ultimately they aim to help patients re-gain their independence and re-integrate into the community.<\/p>\n

After the Competition and Markets Authority\u2019s (CMA<\/abbr>) initial investigation into the merger, it was referred for a more in-depth, phase 2, investigation in May 2017.<\/p>\n

In the summary of provisional findings<\/a> published today, 2 local areas in England have been identified where the 2 companies\u2019 hospitals are close competitors, such that the merger would be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition (SLC<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

The inquiry group conducting the phase 2 investigation found that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs<\/abbr>), as the main customers of these types of hospitals, would face a reduction in choice, quality or value as a result of the merger when seeking to refer male patients in the East Midlands and female patients in the West Midlands suffering from long-term mental illness.<\/p>\n

As well as the provisional findings, a notice of possible remedies has been published which outlines ways the companies could address these competition concerns, including the sale of hospitals in the local areas where an SLC<\/abbr> has been provisionally found.<\/p>\n

Simon Polito, Chair of the inquiry group, said:<\/p>\n

\n

Mental health hospitals are a vital part of our healthcare system, caring for some of the most vulnerable in our society. The needs of patients are complex and varied and NHS trusts and CCGs<\/abbr> need access to a range of facilities and treatment options to help ensure they can deliver the best outcomes for each individual patient.<\/p>\n

Factors such as how close the hospital is to a patient\u2019s home and family, the quality of the hospital and its track record, all play into making the right referral decision for a given patient.<\/p>\n

NHS budgets are under ever-increasing strain. Having a variety of hospitals to choose from when referring patients in the local area is key to ensure quality, service and the best value possible.<\/p>\n

We have provisionally concluded that the merger may mean there is not enough choice for NHS customers to help them get the best outcomes for patients suffering from long-term mental health issues in the East and West Midlands. We now await the companies\u2019 views on our provisional findings and what action they will take to address our concerns.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Notes for editors<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Cygnet Health Care Limited operates 20 mental health hospitals in the UK.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    CAS<\/abbr> operates 61 mental health hospitals in the UK.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    The CMA<\/abbr> is the UK\u2019s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    The summary of provisional findings can be found on the case page<\/a>. The CMA<\/abbr> is required to publish its final decision by 17 October 2017.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n

    On 22 February 2017 the CMA<\/abbr> started its initial investigation and on 3 May 2017 the CMA<\/abbr> referred it for a phase 2 investigation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n

    All the CMA<\/abbr>\u2019s functions in phase 2 merger inquiries are performed by independent inquiry groups chosen from the CMA<\/abbr>\u2019s panel members, and supported by CMA<\/abbr> staff. The appointed inquiry group are the decision-makers on phase 2 inquiries.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  7. \n

    The members of the inquiry group are: Simon Polito<\/a> (Inquiry Chair), Thomas Hoehn<\/a>, Jill May<\/a> and Andrew Popham<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  8. \n

    The CMA<\/abbr>\u2019s panel members come from a variety of backgrounds, including economics, law, accountancy and\/or business; the membership of an inquiry group usually reflects a mix of expertise and experience.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  9. \n

    For more information on the CMA<\/abbr> see our homepage<\/a> or follow us on Twitter @CMAgovuk<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Flickr<\/a> and LinkedIn<\/a>. Sign up to our email alerts<\/a> to receive updates on merger cases.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  10. \n

    Media enquiries should be directed to Rebecca Cassar (rebecca.cassar@cma.gsi.gov.uk<\/a>, 020 3738 6633).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The CMA has provisionally found competition concerns in the merger between Cygnet and the Cambian Adult Services division of the Cambian Group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83624"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=83624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83624\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}