Post
The NHS effectively subsidises private health care by picking up the pieces when patients become too ill for the private clinics/hospitals to deal with.
The Centre for Health & the Public Interest finds up to 6,000 patients a year are transferred from private to NHS facilities due to complications (& these are only the direct transfers, not those after treatment) costing the NHS at least £250m a year.
The NHS should be (at the very least) paid for these 'rescues'!
@ChrisMayLA6 Private medicine is a parasite when it comes to training as well - they (the organisations) pay nothing toward the training of the staff that they poach from the NHS. From the first day that I stepped on a ward I swore that I would have no part of it.
@ChrisMayLA6
When I first came to Leicester it was to work in the laboratory inthe Regional Cardiothoracic Unit back in the early 80s.
We did a lot of clever cardiac surgery including some 'breakthrough' research.
But I was shocked at how many patients were transferred to the NHS Intensive Care Unit from the local private hospital which did much more routine cardiac surgery - which of course was performed by exactly the same surgeons, usually on a Friday evening or Saturday. There was no overnight medical cover at the private hospital, so anyone with a hint of a problem was dumped on the NHS.
It still happens today.
Medical Tourism is another modern equivalent.
@MikeFromLFE @ChrisMayLA6 Perhaps such situations could be avoided if a rule was introduced along the lines that if a patient is not in a condition to leave hospital and no longer require significant care then the initial clinic is responsible for all care and treatment and associated costs. The NHS could then bill private clinics who shove patients on them for incomplete care and treatment costs.
@alex_p_roe @ChrisMayLA6
As much as the NHS 'internal market' is an abomination the existing mechanism could be used for both transferred patients from private care and for medical tourism.
If the initial treatment wasn't provided for by the Trust giving the later care (and there was no agreement in place to provide that care) then the cost of the later - emergency - care falls onto the initial provider. If the first treatment was overseas it would end up being the patient, or travel insurer. Within the UK the private hospital or ultimately the private healthcare insurance company would have to pick up the bill.
This would increase the cost of private healthcare insurance (small violin) and travel insurance but it potentially puts a big chunk of money into the NHS.
Install bonfire.cafe
Get the full app experience
