Co-operation between sectors needed

Greater partnership and communication is necessary between the NHS and private medical insurance (PMI) providers to ensure that patients receive the appropriate level of care, delegates at the UK Independent Medicine conference have heard.

Speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London, Mike Hall, chief executive at Standard Life Healthcare, said: "The cost and value of a private medical insurance product forces customers to think about what is the most appropriate care for them. NHS patients should also be educated about the cost of their treatment."

Discussing the sustainability of PMI, Hall noted the product's resilience to most recessions, pointing to static policy holder numbers throughout the difficult economic conditions of the last four years, as evidence of the product's strength. He did however, urge greater co-operation between the public and private sectors in light of the unique challenges now facing society.

"There will soon be huge stress on the country from demographic changes that will see a third of the population above retirement age by 2025," he said. "New and expensive drugs are now coming onto the market and cancer drugs will be particularly costly as patients will have to take them for the rest of their lives. These are developments that both the NHS and PMI providers will have to face," he added.

Hall's comments came a week before the Department of Health White Paper on public health revealed a raft of preventative measures designed to increase public health awareness. While the Parliamentary report focused on staving off a public health crisis, Hall expressed concern that current Government thinking is based on projections that NHS funding levels shall continue.

"The primary concern about having a public health service that is funded wholly by taxation is that when tax receipts fall, as they must, through recession or higher unemployment, the Government won't be able to provide this higher level of funding. What happens then?" he asked.

Hall also stressed the need for the NHS to take greater accountability when dealing with patients that have a PMI policy. "NHS GPs are too happy to refer patients to a private consultant when they discover that person has private medical insurance," he said.