patient satisfaction rating of good, very good or excellent (Patient satisfaction survey carried out by Howard Warwick & Associates, Jan - Sept 2009)
The independent healthcare marketplace
General Healthcare Group (GHG) leads the UK market in the provision of independent health care and 89% of the GB population live within an hour’s drive of a BMI facility. The independent sector remains a very attractive proposition, with strong long term drivers for the demand for acute care delivery.
The population of the UK is rapidly ageing with the over 60s expected to grow from 11 million in 2009 to 16 million by 2031. This age group is the largest user of acute care services.
Continual advances in the research and treatment of disease means that many more conditions can now be treated. Drug expenditure has doubled over the last 10 years and there is also a growth in prevalence of long term conditions for example, asthma and obesity.
UK government spending on health care has grown by 9.5% since 2000, which is an unsustainable trend even in a growing economy. Spending commitments have been cut in the period to April 2011 and are expected to fall thereafter.
The NHS is unable to service health care provision fully in the UK and is reliant on a partnership with the independent sector.
It is unlikely that the NHS will be able to achieve its target of 3% efficiency gains and it is estimated that there will be a shortfall of 1.5m patient episodes by 2015.
The government and the opposition parties support the increased use of the private sector in delivery of care, and debate continues on how the sector could further develop - this includes the extension of the Choose and Book, the introduction of personal health budgets and the acceptance of top-up payments as a method of spreading the cost for the provision of health care. There is potential for significant further growth should health care funding changes be introduced into the UK.
As the leading player in the market, GHG’s core focus is on the resilient privately insured sector. Our scale allows us to form long term contracts with both suppliers and insurers and, as a business, this gives us visibility and certainty.
