IHPN responds to 10 Year Plan for Heath consultation

IHPN members play a key role in the delivery of healthcare across the UK, treating millions of NHS and private patients every year across a range of services including acute hospital care, primary care, community care, clinical home healthcare, insourcing and diagnostics.

In total, the sector delivers 10% of all NHS elective activity – including one in five elective operations – and more than 100,000 NHS patient care episodes every week. The sector delivers 20% of all NHS funded images and scans, and accounts for 12% of all community services contracts. Independent sector is not in addition to NHS capacity, but a core part of existing provision.

Independent providers therefore play a vital contribution to the health of the country – supporting patients to prevent ill health through early interventions and health and well-being services, providing treatment to those who require elective surgery, and connecting hospital services back into the community, through rehabilitation and other community support.

In our submission to Lord Darzi’s independent investigation of the NHS in England, we said that care is not integrated properly between NHS and independent providers, obligations around patient choice are disregarded, planning and contracting arrangements are suboptimal, and training arrangements are siloed within the NHS.

As a result, the ten-year plan should seek to address these issues to make best use of the capacity, training and innovation the independent sector can provide, in service of improved patient access, choice and outcomes.