Spire Healthcare alleged in 2013 that a block contract agreed between Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the clinical commissioning groups in Blackpool, and Fylde and Wyre offered a “clear incentive” for GPs to refer patients to the foundation trust and that this was anti-competitive behaviour. The contract provided the trust with a guaranteed income regardless of the number of patients that chose to use its services. Monitor conducted an investigation and decided In September 2014 that there was no evidence to support the claim though they did conclude that Blackpool CCG’s plans did not “go far enough” to ensure patients would be offered choice, or that the right to choice would be “publicised and promoted”. Blackpool CCG complained that not a single GP, practice manager or patient was spoken to by the investigating team, nor was a single practice visited.