More evidence is emerging on the failure of the private hospital sector to make the expected gains from the chronic crisis of the NHS and its lengthening waiting lists. Far … Read more
waiting lists
HSJ reports that experts have warned that the drive to cut NHS waiting lists is becoming ‘disproportionately reliant’ on the private sector, as new data suggests rapid growth in the … Read more
In the face of rising waiting lists government policy has aimed to increase the role of the independent sector in tackling these record delays, but as a Lowdown analysis of … Read more
The (£ paywalled) Times has reported that one of the outcomes of Rishi Sunak’s controversial taskforce on boosting NHS contracts with private hospitals will be a new push to persuade patients to … Read more
Sky News has reported on a report in The Times that patients will soon be able to use the NHS app to opt for private hospital treatment in an effort … Read more
The Guardian reports that patients are paying up to £550 an hour to see private GPs amid frustration at the delays many face getting an appointment with an NHS family doctor. Growing … Read more
Two weeks ago, the Lowdown took a detailed look at the situation of the private healthcare sector. We were seeking to understand why – after 13 years of policies promoting privatisation and … Read more
OpenDemocracy reports that the private hospital sector saw 6.6% fewer people in 2022 than 2019, despite lucrative contracts to fix wait lists. The government handed almost half a billion pounds … Read more
HSJ has reported that Royal United Hospitals Bath Foundation Trust has been accused of promoting its private hospital by highlighting the long NHS waiting times which it is supposed to … Read more
“Dental deserts” are emerging across England after more than 2,000 dentists quit the NHS last year, leaving millions of people struggling to get checkups or have toothaches fixed, a new report from … Read more
An increasing number of people in the UK are paying for private medical treatment because of the record delays people are facing trying to access NHS care, a report from Laing & … Read more
The NHS England ‘Delivery Plan’ to tackle the growing backlog of waiting list treatment, announced on February 8, is not a plan at all. It lacks sufficient investment and – … Read more
Since the pandemic began early last year, NHS waiting lists – currently sitting at 5.6m, and growing by 150,000 a month, up by 20 per cent since the start of the pandemic and … Read more
Spire Healthcare, Britain’s second-largest private hospital operator, as seen its profits rise as a result of a surge in patients choosing to pay for hip and knee operations, as the … Read more
NHS dentistry is facing a “twin crisis of access and affordability”, according to the watchdog Healthwatch England, which means in reality for many people NHS dentistry no longer exists. The … Read more
NHS England has announced its intention to seek private hospital groups to help with reducing waiting lists. The planned contract could result in a spend of £10bn on outsourcing work … Read more
NHS England has terminated a number of its block contracts including those with all the inner London private hospitals — established at the beginning of the covid outbreak, despite a … Read more
PAUL EVANS – director of the NHS Support Federation, comments Millions of patients had their treatment put on hold whilst the NHS battled Covid-19, and waited with considerable anxiety not knowing when … Read more
The Independent reports that the number of British people choosing to pay for private hospital surgery has soared with the total amount spent doubling in six years to £1.1bn. According … Read more
Full story in The Guardian, 31 August 2018 NHS bosses have urged hospitals to send patients to be treated by private healthcare firms in a bid to reduce the increasing … Read more
