Specialised Healthcare Alliance

This article is part of the Health Portal project of Spinwatch.

Specialised Healthcare Alliance (SHA) is a lobbying organisation with links to some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment firms.

Record and controversies

In 2014 it emerged that NHS England had commissioned SHA 'to consult patients’ groups, healthcare organisations and charities and produce a report that would be considered as part of its strategy for commissioning specialised services in the future'.

According to the Independent, SHA is funded by 13 drug companies, while its director John Murray is a lobbyist whose company, JMC Partners, works with clients such as pharmaceutical makers AstraZeneca and Pfizer and medical device company Cyberonics.

James Palmer, clinical director of specialised services at NHS England, said he was aware of Murray’s role as a lobbyist but “there are no opportunities for lobbying in the process of forming clinical policy”.

In a statement he said the work by SHCA would feed into a “draft strategy” along with input from another 16 “engagement events”.

“It is completely wrong to suggest we are being unduly influenced by lobbyists … Specialised Healthcare Alliance was asked along with other organisations to support the process of engaging patient groups and other stakeholders to let us know what they thought the outline principles should be. This did not involve consulting on any individual treatment or consulting on any spending decisions. Every decision we take will be driven by the interests of patients and the public, nothing else.”

Affiliations

• Pfizer

Lobbying firms

• JMC Partners