Healthcare, digital health and life sciences bulletin - September 2022

Welcome to the latest edition of our periodic sector bulletin, covering a wide range of matters of concern to different parts of the sector. On the operational side, we consider the challenges of adapting properties for the use of healthcare technology, on the one hand, and the implications of poor record keeping in care homes and the serious failings identified in Calcot-run premises, on the other. On the transactional side, we take stock of the impact to date, particularly in the digital health and biotech space, of the UK government’s new powers under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to call in certain acquisitions and investments on national security grounds and of the requirement to notify certain transactions and await clearance before completing them. We also look at the extent to which certain GP practices may be able to benefit from the use of Limited Liability Partnership structures.

Please contact the relevant members of our healthcare & life sciences sector team identified below if you have any questions about the articles in this bulletin or any other queries relating to the sector, whether across the areas referred to below or in any of the other areas on which we typically advise. These include mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures and other collaborations; commercial agreements; property acquisitions and disposals, construction and planning; employment and immigration; data protection and other regulatory and compliance matters; CQC and HSE investigations and inquests; Court of Protection cases; and commercial dispute resolution.

National Security and Investment Act 2021: An Update

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 has been in effect for almost 9 months now, and following further guidance issued by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the issue of a few call-in notices and final orders under the Act, the implications of the Act and how it might affect the healthcare sector are becoming clearer.

In this article, Charles Davies discusses how the Act operates and how it is affecting transactions.

Read the full article here.

Poor record keeping leading to deaths in care homes

In recent Prevention of Future Deaths Reports there is a recurring theme that care homes are failing to keep adequate records to safeguard their care users from harm.

In this article, Ian Manners explains why record keeping is so important and how healthcare organisations can improve. 

Find out more here.

The challenge of adapting properties for the use of healthcare technology

The health and care sector has been very much at the forefront of the push to develop and use technology to improve the delivery of, payment for, and/or consumption of services. 

Such progress does, however, present a problem for the architecture and construction of buildings and premises used to deliver care. In particular the introduction of new technology into a building raises a number of important considerations that owners, landlords and occupiers of healthcare property should address.

Ben Tarrant discusses the implications for tenants in the article link below. 

To read more click here.

The approach to regulation of social care and children's services in light of the BBC’s Calcot Services investigation

In October 2018 and March 2022, the Care Quality Commissioner (CQC) carried out inspections of care homes provided for and run by Calcot Services for Children Limited.  After both inspections, CQC found those care homes to be safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, awarding them an overall rating of ‘Good’.

However, a BBC investigation published in June 2022 uncovered serious failings throughout various Calcot run premises. How did these failings fall through the cracks, and what wider lessons can be learned in order to prevent a repeat?

Ian Manners and Zoe Hunt consider these questions in the article link below.

Discover more here.

Should GP Practices Consider Becoming Limited Liability Partnerships?

GPs have long practised within a traditional partnership structure, but Limited Liability Partnerships (“LLP”) may provide some GPs with a more suitable alternative to the traditional partnership business structure for certain purposes.

Here, we explain some of the benefits and disadvantages of an LLP structure, the practical implications of incorporating as an LLP, how GPs may be able to maximise the commercial and organisational benefits associated with the LLP structure and certain impediments to using this type of vehicle.

To read more click here.

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