Private hospitals are responsible for 10% of all scheduled NHS procedures, which has caused patients to express frustration over extended wait times for care. There is also political pressure to decrease wait times.
Recent statistics obtained by The Guardian have caused activists to caution that the National Health Service (NHS) is giving the private sector excessive opportunities for profit-making and experiencing a growing number of its services being consumed due to a lack of funding, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of patient care.
In 2023, recent data revealed that the National Health Service (NHS) in England has delegated 10% of its elective surgeries, including hip and knee replacements, to private institutions. This is a significant increase of around 50% compared to pre-Covid numbers, according to the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN).
Due to staffing shortages and the need to lower the 7.6 million-person backlog for care, healthcare trusts are increasingly sending patients who are waiting for treatment to receive private care.
The increasing amount of work being taken on by private operators within the NHS has caused concerns about the weakening of the health service and the potential creation of a “two-tier system” where access to essential care is dictated by wealth.
The NHS is currently undergoing a historic movement of patients, coinciding with a significant rise in individuals utilizing personal funds or private insurance for treatment in the independent sector. The NHS is unable to accommodate these demands at a fast pace.
In 2023, private operators performed a record-breaking 1.67 million procedures on NHS patients. These procedures were covered by the NHS through their “referral to treatment” (RTT) program. This figure represents a 29% increase from the 1.3 million procedures carried out by private operators in 2019, according to the IHPN’s recent internal briefing on activity.
Private medical facilities carried out a total of 442,925 operations related to trauma and orthopedics, along with 440,776 eye surgeries, mostly for removing cataracts, and 165,270 dermatology procedures – all of which exceeded the previous year’s numbers. In November, they also achieved a record-breaking 85,460 NHS procedures in a single month.
Retired paediatrician and Keep Our NHS Public co-chair, Dr John Puntis, expressed concern over the fact that private hospitals are now responsible for 10% of all scheduled NHS surgeries. He believes this is a step backwards to the pre-1948 era before the NHS was established.
Bureaucratic choices have resulted in shifting tasks to the small and exploitative private industry, which is a deliberate effort to weaken the NHS and promote a dual healthcare system. The private health sector is gradually consuming the resources of the NHS.
The IHPN retaliated and emphasized how its growth is improving access to faster healthcare for NHS patients. They clarified that due to the increasing demand for care and the likelihood of long wait times in the future, they are hoping private providers will assist in diagnosing and treating more NHS patients in the coming years. This would help alleviate the strain on an overwhelmed NHS, as many doctors and experts claim.
According to David Hare, the CEO of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), the independent sector has the potential to improve access to treatment and tests and offer NHS patients more flexibility in terms of when and where they receive care.
According to the IHPN’s report, in January 2023, private hospitals took on more than 10% of the NHS’s non-urgent procedures for the first time. This trend continued in February, March, September, October, and November, with at least 10% of procedures being conducted by private hospitals. While the percentage fell to 9.8% in December, it was still a significant increase compared to 6.5% in December 2019.
Last month, the Health Service Journal reported that in certain areas of England, regional groupings of trusts known as local NHS integrated care boards struggle with managing their waiting lists. As a result, they are turning to private companies to handle up to 20 percent of all elective procedures.
In the months of September, October, and November, the percentage was at 20% for the Bristol, Bath, and Swindon ICB, 18% for the Sussex ICB, and 17% for both the West Yorkshire and the Mid and South Essex ICB.
The cost of building new hospitals and the NHS’s lack of capital funding mean some trusts are now building new facilities in collaboration with private firms to treat both NHS and private patients, said Tim Read, the director of research at the specialist private care data firm Laing Buisson.
In January, the Harborne hospital in Birmingham opened. It is a collaboration between HCA, a large healthcare company, and University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS trust. As part of the agreement, UHB has two floors in the hospital, providing an additional 72 beds. Some of UHB’s leading specialist doctors also offer private care in HCA’s larger portion of the hospital.
The Royal Surrey NHS Trust, in partnership with Genesis Cancer Care, aims to establish a new cancer facility in Guildford. This collaboration is in line with Genesis Cancer Care’s existing network of 14 diagnostic and treatment centers.
David Rowland, the head of the thinktank Centre for Health and the Public Interest, expressed worry about the increasing trend of outsourcing in the NHS due to potential hazards to patient safety within the private sector. According to figures from the government, approximately 6,000 patients annually have to be moved from a private hospital to an NHS one when complications arise.
The IHPN noted that private hospitals receive good feedback. According to the Care Quality Commission, which oversees health and care in England, 92% of private hospitals are rated as “good” or “outstanding”, while only 52% of NHS hospitals receive the same ratings.
The government is promoting the utilization of private healthcare resources by the NHS, and Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary for the Labour party, believes that outsourcing can be mutually beneficial for patients and the NHS.
NHS England stood behind their growing partnership with private hospitals. A representative mentioned their efforts to address the backlog, particularly for those experiencing unusually long wait times for treatment.
The representative stated: “In our efforts to recover, we are collaborating closely with private providers to make full use of all available capacity for patients. This has led to a 50% increase in the use of the independent sector since 2021, with appointments and procedures rising from 65,000 per week to over 100,000.”
Source: theguardian.com
