By Kirstie Redford NHS patients whose operations are cancelled are to receive free private tr...
By Kirstie Redford
NHS patients whose operations are cancelled are to receive free private treatment as part of a Government scheme being piloted in nine hospitals.
The scheme aims to cut down on cancelled operations by offering patients private surgery. If the pilot is successful, any NHS patient whose operation is cancelled by their hospital on the day of surgery for non-clinical reasons, will be able to nominate a date and hospital of their choice to have the operation if it is not re-scheduled within 28 days. It is predicted that, if successful, the scheme will be fully implemented by the end of 2002.
Health secretary, Alan Milburn, said: "I am bringing forward new arrangements to prevent cancellations and, when they do occur, to ensure operations are rebooked promptly. At first, we will pilot the schemes in hospitals to make sure standards are driven up. Then it will be implemented in every NHS hospital so every NHS patient can benefit."
Hospitals taking part in the pilot include three which have been labelled as having particular problems with cancelled operations: the Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and University Coventry and Warwick Hospital NHS Trust.
Peter Furmoy, communications manager at the Independent Healthcare Association (IHA), said that the decision to run the pilot scheme was a natural extension of the concordat signed last October by the Department of Health and the private sector in a bid to help the sectors work more closely together.
"This move is really underlining the concordat. Since the signing last year, the independent sector has seen a huge increase in NHS admissions, in some cases three-fold. This scheme shows how confidence has been gained by both the public and independent sectors and an increased willingness to work together," he said.
Paul Tempest, general man- ager of BUPA-owned Khalybeate Hospital in Southampton, agreed that the scheme was good news for the private sector even though most hospitals were already very busy.
He said: "It is always good to have an opportunity to further our relationship with the NHS. Our hospitals are already, however, working to near full capacity. I am not clear about the scale of referral at this point if the pilot is successful, but I do not think that we will be overloaded. NHS patients should still remain a small proportion of our patients."
