well spotted Simon
surely one for private eye?
maryA

>  from:    Simon Child <[log in to unmask]>
>  date:    Tue, 17 Feb 2004 00:12:50
>  to:      [log in to unmask]
>  subject: Re: NHS Confederation
>
> I've just noticed that the NHS Confederation is registered as a charity.
>
> I don't know much about the Confederation, except that it seemed to be some
> sort of NHS body appointed as government spokespeople/negotiators in our
> contract, so that surprised me.
>
>
> The Object of the Charity is:
>
> THE RELIEF OF SICKNESS AND THE PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH
>
> http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?regn
> o=1090329&submit=Run Search
>
>
> But (see: http://www.nhsconfed.org/aboutus/howwearerun.asp ) the part that
> we seemed to have encountered is not a charity, it is a trading company:
>
> "The NHS Confederation Project Company Limited
>
> To carry on business as a general commercial company; specifically set up to
> deal with the GP Contract and similar initiatives."
>
>
> So this a company trading under the umbrella of the NHS confederation, but
> it has been referred to in the GP Press as "The Confederation" (or "The NHS
> Confederation") which seems to blur the important distinction between the
> charity (The NHS Confederation) and the trading company which is actually
> who does the negotiations (The NHS Confederation Project Company Limited).
>
> The blurring of usages of names is perhaps misleading/confusing (and
> possibly deliberate?), but the separation of roles is quite legitimate - a
> charity is not allowed to trade (except for certain provisos such as primary
> purpose trading), but is allowed to be an umbrella organisation containing
> trading companies. However these companies are not charities but perhaps too
> often the distinctions are less clear than the association. e.g. everyone
> knows about Oxfam charity shops, but actually (as I understand it) these
> charity shops are not charities, they are trading companies who receive and
> sell goods and pay staff and make profits (and probably donate their surplus
> profits to the Oxfam charity proper).
>
> It looks like the negotiating body in our contract negotiations was not
> actually the NHS Confederation, but a company (The NHS Confederation Project
> Company Limited) paid half a million
> (http://www.nhsconfed.org/docs/annualreport.pdf) by the government to do the
> negotiations.
>
> Perhaps it sounded better to be using a company with NHS Confederation in
> its name (and as it turns out, the NHS Confederation is a registered
> charity), than using some other more obviously commercially named
> negotiating company?
>
>
> --
> Simon Child
> www.GPUK.net
> www.woodbanksurgery.nhs.uk



Dr Mary Anderson MRCGP
Heaton Moor Medical Centre
SK4 4NX

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