The private health sector could play a key role in ensuring the NHS survives for another 75 years.
This is according to private health industry experts who spoke to Health & Protection as the NHS celebrates its 75th birthday today.
Claire Ginnelly, health expert and vice-chairwoman of the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII), told Health & Protection that the NHS would struggle to survive in its current format. But the private health sector could play a role in alleviating the burden on an overstretched service.
“Primary care is an area which is under particular stress and this could be something the insurance industry could help with, but it will always involve people being prepared to pay more than they do at the moment,” Ginnelly said.
“Likewise, I think the insurance sector is very good at promoting preventative care. The NHS has already announced access to digital health checks for over 40s from Spring 2024 and, again, this could be something the private sector helps with.
“One thing I do believe, is the NHS is going to struggle to continue for another 75 years in its current format. We need to look at how sustainable a cradle-to-grave, free at the point of use service is – as the landscape has changed dramatically since 1948. But it is going to take cross-party collaboration for it to be a success.”
Marcia Reid, non executive director at Sherwood Healthcare, told Health & Protection that she thought independent healthcare providers will continue to support the NHS and ease some of the pressure for the foreseeable future.
“I hope that the public and private sectors will maintain a mutually beneficial relationship for many years to come,” Reid continued. “Increased outsourcing of ‘cold’ surgery and diagnostics to the private sector has had a positive impact on some NHS waiting lists. But this can be a double-edged sword for independent providers.
“While the hospitals and diagnostic facilities appreciate the NHS contracts as a valuable source of regular income, this must be managed in a way that doesn’t delay access for self-pay and insured patients. A global shortage of healthcare practitioners impacts availability of treatment, however it is funded. But you could argue that this makes health insurance even more valuable.
“Yes – privately funded patients may now face some delays in accessing treatment, but these are most likely to remain significantly shorter than NHS waiting lists,” she said.
Reid said that primary care is a “particular pressure” point and predicted an increasing tendency for non-insured patients to adopt a ‘mix and match’ approach to healthcare.
“This could perhaps include paying for one- off GP consultations or diagnostics to avoid an unpalatable wait for treatment or diagnosis for the non life-threatening ailments. This may be beneficial for the NHS,” Reid added.
“Preventative healthcare initiatives and wellbeing support from health insurers will also ultimately help the NHS by keeping their members healthy with early intervention and embedding good lifestyle habits with long term benefits,” she said.