Public/private partnership: An unholy Alliance?
 In the November issue of Synergy, we have an exclusive interview with Jonathan Walsh, the managing director of Alliance Medical. To prove that he doesn't really have horns and a pointed tail, he talks frankly about the much criticised Alliance MRI contract with the Department of Health.
In response to criticism that the service the company provides is not up to NHS standards, he says: "We have always strongly refuted these allegations and believe that we have a clinical governance programme which is second to none. In addition, we produce a full monthly report for the Department of Health which scores our service delivery at every stage of the patient experience, from first contact by our Patient Management Centre to booking the scan; scan protocols and outcome quality; report turnaround times; accuracy of radiology report; and finally patient satisfaction with every step of their experience. We believe this is unrivalled and results to date continue to show circa 95 per cent of patients rating their experience with our service as above average or excellent."
When Synergy asked him "Aren’t you providing a radiography ‘production line’ to meet targets? How can radiographers spend any time with patients?' he said: "Patients are thrilled that they don’t have to wait six or nine months; patient service is what it is all about. We survey 1 in 10 patients each month and 95 per cent of them say that our service is above average or excellent. Our radiographers and helpers are trained to make patients feel special, not to feel rushed. Although this contract is high volume, fast turnover, we refute suggestions that it is of low quality or, in any way, a production line."
A recent complaint is that Alliance is providing less scans than it is contracted to do. Why is this? Jonathan Walsh's response is: "We have to provide the vans, equipment and the staff, but the one part of our contract that is not our responsibility is the provision of the patients. At the beginning there was an issue with the quality of patient records and referral forms sent to us. However, I’m delighted to say that this has got immeasurably better over the last few months. We have learnt an awful lot on our side and some trusts have learnt that, not only were their records not as good as they should have been, but the timely provision of patients to us has been a challenge for them."
Watch out for the full interview in the November issue of Synergy.
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