Independent sector’s role in ‘building better health’

With NHS finances set to be severely restricted in the coming years, greater private investment and partnership with the independent healthcare sector will be "essential" to the implementation of the Government's 10-Year Plan for Health, as well as their drive to reduce NHS waiting times, says the latest report from the IHPN.

The independent healthcare sector's support for the NHS in delivering frontline patient care is currently estimated to be equivalent to the activity of around 20 acute Trusts, with independent healthcare providers now removing more than one million patients from NHS waiting lists every year. But with new investment needed across all parts of the healthcare system to tackle waiting lists and to shift care into the community, the IHPN is calling for a major "step change" in how the NHS works with the private sector, to both unlock capital investment and to build further capacity. This includes a greater role for the independent sector in financing new premises and equipment, alongside the ongoing delivery of NHS services to increase capacity and productivity.

IHPN's report - 'Building Better Health ' has been co-authored with Future Health co-founder and former Department of Health and Social Care Special Adviser, Richard Sloggett. It calls for a "Strategic Council for Healthcare Infrastructure" to be established to provide cross-Government leadership and to accelerate efforts in bringing private investment into the NHS - including the development of new Neighbourhood Health Services, as well as building and running new services in historically "under-served" areas.