With NHS finances expected to face severe constraints in the coming years, greater private investment and partnership with the independent healthcare sector will be “essential” to delivering the Government’s 10-Year Plan for Health and reducing waiting times, according to a new report from the Independent Healthcare Providers Network.
The independent sector already plays a significant role in supporting the NHS, providing care equivalent to the activity of around 20 acute Trusts, and removing over one million patients from NHS waiting lists annually.
However, with new investment needed across the healthcare system to tackle waiting lists and shift care into the community, IHPN is calling for a major step change in how the NHS works with private providers. This includes:
- Unlocking capital investment for new premises and equipment
- Expanding public-private partnerships to boost capacity and productivity
- Clarifying Treasury accounting rules, which NHS leaders say currently block investment opportunities
David Hare, Independent Healthcare Providers Network’s CEO, commented:
“As the recent 10 Year Plan for Health made painstakingly clear, the NHS’s capital regime is in desperate need of reform, with a lack of investment in services severely hampering both healthcare productivity and patients’ access to care.
“With public finances under considerable strain, it’s simply a no-brainer that much greater use of private capital is made in order to invest in new and improved NHS services.
“Independent healthcare providers have a track record in investing and delivering accessible, high-quality services for NHS patients all across the country. Along with our NHS colleagues we are therefore calling on Government to provide real leadership on this issue and to capitalise on the huge appetite in the sector to partner with the NHS to invest in its future – and to deliver improved access to NHS services for patients that are free at the point of use.”
The report highlights examples where independent providers are already investing in NHS services, including Community Diagnostic Centres operating seven days a week, new cancer centres, and research hubs offering cutting-edge treatments and clinical trials.
With the Government’s 10-Year Plan committing to up to 300 new Neighbourhood Health Centres, IHPN is urging ministers to explore a Neighbourhood Health Capital Fund to raise private capital for developing local health services nationwide.
IHPN emphasises that this approach must go “beyond bricks and mortar,” focusing on innovation and collaboration to deliver sustainable healthcare for the future.
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