Keywords
Citation
(2004), "UK. Increased use of private health-care sector", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 17 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2004.06217aab.008
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
UK. Increased use of private health-care sector
UK
Increased use of private health-care sector
Keywords: Government, NHS, Private health care, Independent sector treatment centres
The views expressed in the Laing's Health-care Market Review outlined above were supported by Health Minister John Hutton MP, speaking at Laing & Buisson's Annual Acute Health-care Conference on 23 September 2003. Mr Hutton signalled the government's commitment to strengthening the relationship between the NHS and the private healthcare sector, telling delegates of his confidence in the ability of the sector to continue to deliver additional capacity, in the wake of announcing the preferred bidders for contracts to run new independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs).
The Government plans to invest around £2bn over the next five years in the private sector with the first wave of ISTCs carrying out 250,000 day-case operations in 26 areas across the UK. Mr Hutton said this cluster of ISTCs is the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between the NHS and the private sector.
The Government and the Independent Health-care Association signed the Concordat agreement in October 2000. It was the first time a post-war government entered into an explicit agreement to work with independent health-care providers. The Independent Sector Treatment Centre programme (formerly known as the Diagnostic & Treatment Centre programme) was announced by the Department of Health in January 2003.
Responding to concerns that the ISTC will have a damaging effect on the current relationship enjoyed by the private sector under the Concordat agreement, Mr Hutton said: "I still think there will be a case – and there will clearly be a need – for other arrangements to take place outside the procurement of extra finished consultant episodes through the ISTCs".
He said that the ISTC is not supplanting the Concordat and that the Concordat still has a very substantial contribution to make for tens of thousands of patients being treated through that route. He promised long-term opportunities for both UK and overseas private health-care providers, both through the ISTC programme and under the Concordat.