One out of every 10 scheduled operations in the NHS are being performed by private hospitals, causing patients to be dissatisfied with extended waiting periods for care and putting pressure on politicians to reduce wait times.
Recent data observed by The Guardian prompted activists to caution that the National Health Service is “enabling the corporate sector to profit greatly” and is experiencing a growing loss of its resources due to prolonged neglect, resulting in inadequate and slow healthcare delivery.
In England, the National Health Service (NHS) has delegated 10% of elective surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, to private companies for the first time in 2023. This percentage has increased by almost 50% since the pre-Covid era, according to data from the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN).
Due to problems with staffing and the need to decrease a substantial backlog of 7.6 million patients, health service trusts are increasingly resorting to sending individuals on their waitlists to receive private treatment.
The increasing number of private operators performing NHS services has sparked concerns that the health system is becoming more vulnerable and that patients’ ability to receive necessary care is becoming a “two-tier system” based on their financial status.
The sudden movement of NHS patients is coinciding with a significant rise in patients utilizing personal funds or private insurance to cover treatment in the independent sector due to the NHS’s inability to meet demand quickly enough.
The private sector conducted a record-breaking number of 1.67 million medical procedures for NHS patients in 2023, all funded by the health service through their “referral to treatment” program. This amount was 29% higher than the 1.3 million procedures performed in 2019, according to the latest internal memo from the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN).
In 2019, private hospitals saw a significant increase in surgeries, including 442,925 trauma and orthopaedic operations, 440,776 eye surgeries (primarily cataract removals), and 165,270 dermatology procedures. In fact, November marked the highest number of NHS procedures performed by private hospitals in a single month, with a total of 85,460.
Dr. John Puntis, a retired paediatrician and co-chair of the campaign group Keep Our NHS Public, expressed concern over the fact that private hospitals are now performing 10% of all planned NHS operations. This represents a regression to the time before the establishment of the NHS in 1948.
Switching tasks to the comparatively compact and exploitative private industry is a deliberate choice to weaken the NHS and expand a system with two tiers. The private healthcare sector is progressively consuming the resources of the NHS.
However, the IHPN has responded by stating that its growth is benefiting NHS patients by providing faster care. They emphasized that as the demand for care increases and long waiting times are expected to persist, they aim for private operators to assist with diagnosing and treating even more NHS patients in the near future. This would alleviate the strain on the NHS, which is experiencing overwhelming demands according to many doctors and experts.
David Hare, the chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), suggests that the independent sector can play a larger role in providing prompt access to treatment and tests, giving patients under the National Health Service (NHS) more control over their treatment options in terms of timing and location.
According to the IHPN, in January 2023, private hospitals began to handle over 10% of the NHS’s non-emergency procedures, marking a significant milestone. There were also months, such as February, March, September, October, and November, where the share remained above 10%. Though it dropped to 9.8% in December, it was still a considerable jump from the 6.5% in December 2019.
The Health Service Journal recently reported that in certain areas of England, local NHS integrated care boards, groups of trusts organized by region, struggle with managing their waiting lists. As a result, they are outsourcing nearly 20% of elective procedures to private companies.
During the months of September to November, the percentage was 20% in the ICB regions of Bristol, Bath, and Swindon, 18% in the Sussex ICB, and 17% in both the West Yorkshire and Mid and South Essex ICBs.
According to the director of research at Laing Buisson, Tim Read, the combination of high costs for constructing new hospitals and insufficient funding from the National Health Service has led some trusts to team up with private companies to provide care for both NHS and private patients.
In January, the Harborne hospital in Birmingham opened through a collaboration between healthcare company HCA and University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS trust. As part of the partnership, UHB has received two floors with 72 additional beds, and some of their leading specialist doctors provide private care at HCA’s larger portion of the hospital.
The Royal Surrey NHS trust intends to collaborate with Genesis Cancer Care to establish a new cancer facility in Guildford. This partnership is in addition to Genesis Cancer Care’s current operation of 14 diagnostic and treatment centers.
David Rowland, the leader of the Centre for Health and the Public Interest thinktank, expressed worry over the increasing reliance on outsourcing within the NHS due to potential safety issues for patients in the private sector. Citing statistics from the government, he noted that around 6,000 individuals have to be moved from a private facility to an NHS hospital each year due to complications.
The IHPN mentioned that private hospitals receive positive evaluations. The Care Quality Commission, a regulatory body for health and care in England, gives a “good” or “outstanding” rating to 92% of private hospitals, whereas only 52% of NHS hospitals receive the same rating.
The authorities are promoting the NHS to maximize their utilization of private healthcare resources. Labour’s representative for health, Wes Streeting, has stated that he believes outsourcing will have positive effects on patients and the NHS.
NHS England stood by its growing partnership with private hospitals, stating that it is committed to addressing the backlog of individuals waiting long periods for their healthcare.
The spokesperson stated that as a part of the recovery process, services are collaborating with private providers to make the most of all available resources for patients. This has resulted in a 50% increase in the utilization of the independent sector since 2021. The number of weekly appointments and procedures has risen from 65,000 to over 100,000 currently.
Source: theguardian.com
