More have private ops

More people seem to be paying for one-off treatments in the private sector

The number of patients receiving acute care in private hospitals grew substantially last year.

Figures for 2000 from analysts and publishers Health Care Information Services (HCIS), show the market grew by 8.3% to £1.66bn.

Experts believe the increase is due to more people paying for one-off operations in private hospitals.

But the NHS itself, under pressure to reduce waits for operations, has used fewer of its private patient beds.

The independent market has grown because it satisfies demand

William Fitzhugh, HCIS

Private patient income to the NHS rose by just 3.5% to £329m, an effective decline in the health service's share of the independent market.

'Satisfying demand'

The figures were published in HCIS's Fitzhugh Directory of Independent Healthcare and Long-Term Care 2001 - 2002.

The directory compiles financial details from independent hospital and nursing home operators.

The amount of psychiatric care provided by the private sector increased by almost a third in 2000, compared to the previous year, with revenues totalling £355m.

William Fitzhugh, director of the HCIS, told BBC News Online: "The independent market has grown because it satisfies demand, which is really unfulfilled demand from the NHS, which is unable to provide the level of requirements which people want and need."

He said people had realised they could turn to the independent sector for one-off operations.

The Fitzhugh data showed private medical insurance revenues increased, with leading provider Bupa seeing a rise of 16%.

However, a spokesman for the Independent Healthcare Association suggested that could be due to people with existing policies using them more often, rather than more people actually taking policies out.

Concerns over NHS

He added that the high-profile concordat, signed by the NHS and private sector a year ago, had so far led to around 100,000 NHS patients being treated in the private sector - roughly a five-fold increase.

He said the number of patients paying for one-off operations because people were concerned about the state of the NHS.

"There has been a huge mark-up in the number of people who are prepared to pay for operations as they go.

"In the last four years, we have seen a 100% increase, from 100,000 in 1997 to over 200,000 at the end of last year."

He said: "Sometimes its because people have already waited a long time for an NHS operation.

"But people also anticipate having to wait, and decide to pay."