Spire Healthcare See Surge In Patients Choosing Private Healthcare
Why are Brits abandoning the NHS?
As Brits, no matter its failings, we are incredibly proud of and grateful for the NHS. For 73 years, the NHS has been a symbol of a fair society. Regardless of individual wealth or one's socio-economic background, you will be given free medical care at point of access. However, the massive surge in demand for acute care, specifically intensive care provision the pandemic brought about, has left an already beleaguered institution further weakened and fragmented.
Pre pandemic: the average annual increase of Brits choosing to go private was about 20% in the two years since the pandemic first hit that figure rose by another 30%. The NHS is under incredible strain, with a record 5.7 million people waiting for treatment and thousands waiting up to two years for surgery. Staffing shortages, evolving health care needs, and the NHS facing its biggest backlog in history has seen dissatisfied NHS patients turn to private health care providers like Spire Healthcare.
Justin Ash, Chief Executive at Spire Healthcare, said, “Many of Spire’s patients have had their treatments or consultations cancelled by the NHS due to long waiting lists. These people are in a lot of pain, and the NHS has told them they can’t have surgery. Our patients' key criteria are quality of care and outcome. Something Spire Healthcare heavily invests in. People are turning to providers like Spire to bypass wait times, fast track diagnostics and access the specialists and expertise Spire provides".
Covid has pushed the NHS to breaking point. Spire Healthcare, along with other private health care providers, supported the NHS by supplying equipment, staff and beds. Now that normal service has resumed, there has been an increase in people choosing to go private and bypass the NHS backlog. Patients are opting to Self-Pay, choosing affordable, flexible payment plans for procedures such as hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, obstetrics/gynaecology and ophthalmology care. Spire Healthcare is also servicing patients affected by the NHS's inability to implement the radical changes it needs in terms of diagnostic services. Patients know that private providers like Spire Healthcare won't refuse them a specific therapy, drug, or CT scan because they don't have the equipment or cannot afford to.
The late Dr Lesley Kirkpatrick, a GP diagnosed with an aggressive form of ocular cancer, said, “After 22 years as a GP, I felt strongly that the NHS was unbeatable when it came to major illnesses like this, but I was wrong. I needed an MRI scan, but my consultant said the NHS could only afford to do one without contrast, which is less sensitive than one with contrast. I had to beg and battle for drugs and finally chose to pay for my scans and treatment privately. The wonderful institution I dedicated my whole life to let me down. My last hope was Spire Healthcare, as their Southampton hospital was one of the few hospitals in the country that could provide the treatments I need to survive for as long as I possibly can”.
The NHS has fallen victim to slow administrative processes, budget cuts and legacy technologies. On the other hand, private healthcare providers are customer orientated and administratively far nimbler. Technological advancements in healthcare happen quickly, constantly redefining medical possibilities. Spire Healthcare and providers like them can keep pace with that accelerated progress. To remain competitive, private clinics and hospitals regularly update their treatments, services and equipment to offer patients the best in high tech medical care.
Spire Healthcare recently invested another £4 million upgrading their CT provision. Spire Leicester, Spire Hartswood and Spire Norwich have all been equipped with the Aquilion One, a state-of-the-art CT scanner from Toshiba Medical. The AO has superior imaging capabilities and improved spatial resolution far beyond anything else on the secondary market. It is faster and far safer for patients as it utilises integrated radiation reduction technology. It can vary between ECG gating, scan pitch, and exposure control in a single uninterrupted scan providing pinpoint accuracy and timely diagnosis. Imperative as misdiagnosis, late diagnosis or a complete failure to diagnose leads to increased recovery times and decreased survival rates, particularly for time-critical illnesses like cancer.
Currently, the NHS owes £4.2 billion in legal fees to settle claims of clinical negligence. The NHS also receives just over ten thousand new negligence claims each year. Worse still, the record backlog of 5.7 million is predicted to reach a dizzying thirteen million as the estimated seven million who delayed seeking medical help during the pandemic begin looking to do so. New research by The King’s Fund has found the lower working class and those from the most deprived areas are twice as likely to wait for a year or more to receive treatment than those from more affluent areas. Last year a survey commissioned by MP’s on a joint committee examining ethnic minorities, racism and human rights found that 64% of the BAME community believed their health was not protected by NHS when compared with their white counterparts, with black women four times more likely to die in childbirth
David Hare, Chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, said, “We all want to help and protect the NHS. Despite the hard work of healthcare staff across the country, today’s record NHS waiting list of 5.7 million underlines the ever-growing challenges patients are facing in accessing NHS. It should not be seen as private versus public that will not solve the challenges facing the NHS. Instead, we must all work together to improve the quality of health care, access to treatments and working conditions for health care professionals. If we do not, it is patients who lose out”.
Yes, the NHS and its amazing staff are to be cherished, but the NHS is in crisis in more ways than one, an element of distrust has crept in and as such it is no surprise that Brits are turning to Private Healthcare to have their needs met.
Spire Healthcare is known for setting the standard for care and patient outcome across the UK. They offer the highest standards of clinical care and the flexibility of a personal service tailored to your needs.
For more information on Spire Healthcare’s services, therapies, treatments, specialists, and consultants please head to their website at www.spirehealthcare.com
