News and press releases

• Patients need comparable data on all healthcare providers if they are to exercise genuine choice
• Government urged to give the independent sector a more clearly defined role if it is to help reduce the burden on the NHS

The head of the UK’s largest independent provider of healthcare believes a fair playing field is required if the Government’s White Paper plans to extend patient choice and encourage competition are to be successful.

Speaking at The Reform Health Conference (Thursday, July 22), Adrian Fawcett, Chief Executive of General Healthcare Group, said that as part of the restructuring proposed in its White Paper, the Government should require all hospitals – public and independent - to publish performance data on exactly the same basis.

Patients would only be able to exercise the genuine choice at the heart of the White Paper, if they could clearly measure and compare all providers’ performance from patient outcomes through to waiting times.  Equally, GPs would not be able to deliver the impartial advice necessary as part of their new commissioning role without access to detailed like-for-like comparisons between providers, irrespective of sector or location.

Mr Fawcett, whose company runs over 70 hospitals and clinics across the UK employing more than 9,000 healthcare staff said: “For these new measures to be successful, it is very important that they are underpinned by education and information for both GPs and patients. The White Paper’s focus on quality indicators is key to patients being able to make a proper comparison between the NHS and the independent sector in deciding where and when they would like to be treated, and by which consultant.

“The Government’s plans are a real step-change in UK healthcare and we wholeheartedly welcome patient choice and increased competition within a more dynamic mixed economy. We look to a strengthened Monitor to police this brave new world.”

Mr Fawcett added that the White Paper should be the catalyst for a more planned role for the independent sector in helping to meet future healthcare needs, delivering increased volumes of improved patient outcomes as well as leveraging additional and much-needed investment in new health technology and innovation in treatments.

He added: “Our election manifesto earlier this year called on the Government to support a more clearly defined role for the independent in recognition of rapidly rising demand for healthcare against a decreasing ability to fund this solely through taxation.  Although there are still challenges ahead, we believe this White Paper makes that possible.

“Historically, the independent sector has been used to prop up waiting lists or meet short-term Government targets.  But there are strong arguments for the independent sector to continue to service the privately funded market as well as helping to relieve the NHS of some of its growing burden, without any additional cost to the taxpayer.

“A more planned approach to the use of this capacity might for example comprise the transfer of a guaranteed proportion of elective surgery to independent providers at NHS rates over a fixed period of time.  This ‘intelligent partnership’ would allow the independent sector to take on the capital costs of planning to meet this demand through greater investment in terms of training and resources and the equipment needed to further improve quality outcomes and deliver market-leading innovation.  At the same time this would leave the NHS free to focus on managing a reduced level of increased demand overall while continuing its excellence in primary care.” 

Mr Fawcett believed the Government could go further still and consider the introduction of incentives to encourage greater self-responsibility in healthcare where there was a clear business case based on reducing pressure on NHS budgets.

He added: “The Government could incentivise people to pay directly for healthcare themselves if they so wish and can afford it, and they should also remove the barriers to people topping up their NHS allowance if they wished to buy additional services or treatment.  It seems illogical to reorganise the NHS around freedom of choice yet continue to prevent people from topping up by removing their entire NHS entitlement if they do.  The self-pay market over the past three years has effectively halved which means more people being treated at a cost to the NHS that would not otherwise be the case if for example they were able to claim some degree of tax back on their spend.  These people continue to pay their £2,000 a year into the NHS without complaint and tax relief at the basic rate would encourage more to self-pay, saving the NHS much more in reduced costs than the total spent on the relief.

“During a period of economic austerity, it is important that those that can afford to pay for themselves should be encouraged to if that makes financial sense to the Exchequer.”

Follow Adrian Fawcett on twitter www.twitter.com/adrianfawcett