Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN)

Thank you to our member GP CARE UK LIMITED for having Danielle over to visit you in Bristol this week! Their DVT clinic is a great example of how independent providers are delivering high quality, accessible patient care in the community.

Some positive news this morning ahead of tomorrow's Budget that HM Treasury is to provide funding for the delivery of an extra 2 million NHS operations, scans and appointments a year. This new funding is clearly very welcome and needs to be quickly deployed to start to get NHS planned care waiting lists down from current record highs. Independent sector providers across the country stand ready to diagnose and treat the millions of patients waiting for treatment in hospital and in the community, ensuring that the taxpayer gets maximum value from this investment. This should include making use of around one million slots every year which the independent sector makes available to the NHS at NHS prices but which currently go unused. Given that public finances are hugely stretched, there is a real opportunity to go even further and make good on the government’s pre-election commitments of working in partnership with the private sector over the long-term. This includes taking advantage of the sector’s commitment to investing over £1bn of new capital into the NHS in the short term alone – and significantly more in the long term – to develop new diagnostic and surgical facilities and extend existing capacity for the benefit of NHS patients. You can read Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) full response to the news here: https://lnkd.in/eJJ65qk5

Great to see our latest analysis on independent sector NHS elective activity covered by The Telegraph today which show independent providers are continuing to deliver record levels of care to NHS patients, and have so far removed more than 1 million patients from the NHS waiting list in 2024. Overall, the sector is now carrying out almost 1 in 5 NHS operations – 15,000 every week - and 10% of all NHS planned care. You can read our research in full here (https://lnkd.in/eDUkSbwZ), and The Telegraph story here: https://lnkd.in/eK_wWzMv   Our CE, David Hare MBE, was quoted in the article saying: “This latest data shows the independent sector has reached an important milestone in supporting the NHS recovery – removing more than one million patients from the waiting list so far in 2024 and enabling them to live the active and productive lives they deserve."   “This is a fantastic achievement and one that independent providers are keen to build on even further – including through investing in much-needed new healthcare facilities so that NHS patients can get the care they need at a time when public resources are hugely stretched, as well as ensuring that existing capacity in the sector is fully utilised by the NHS.”

A fantastic episode of Matthew Winn's podcast on Leadership and culture in healthcare featuring Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) very own CEO David Hare MBE. ⭐ David talked about the "rich and diverse" nature of the independent healthcare sector and his pride in running IHPN and bringing our members together on important issues ranging from the covid-19 pandemic response, to supporting the Ukraine, as well as helping members on their journey to Net Zero. 🏥 Matthew and David also discussed what unites leaders in both the NHS and independent sectors - namely a drive to deliver high quality patient care and a commitment to the founding principles of the NHS of a universal, free at the point of use health service, funded out of general taxation. 👩⚕️ While increasing productivity and improving outcomes is a key part of what the sector does, it was great to hear David talk about the support provided to staff working in the sector so they're "able to get on and do what they love" as well as the desire from independent providers to deliver even more training for healthcare professionals 🛣 And looking to the future, both Matthew and David discussed what lessons the NHS can learn from other sectors, including insurance providers, on delivering preventative care and improving the "health literacy" of the public and above all to be a partner to patients. A great episode! Do have a listen here: https://lnkd.in/gbwszUKz

This October the independent health sector is delighted to be celebrating Freedom to Speak up Month. There are currently almost 500 Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in the sector (a 50% rise in the last year alone) and here at IHPN, we firmly believe that “speaking up” is hugely important in fostering a safe and open culture. Not only does it help ensure that concerns and issues can raised, it is also key to developing a culture where employees feel free to share information and contribute new ideas and initiatives – all of which help improve the care we provide to patients. Of course, “speaking up” means nothing if you’re not being listened to and that’s why this year’s theme – “Listen Up” – is a particularly important one. Listening is about being curious, seeking to understand, to learn and to take action – helping ensure that speaking up really does make a difference and is a core part of our day to day working. We're so pleased to be working with National Guardian's Office this month on why it's important to #ListenUp - read more about what the sector is doing to support Freedom to Speak up in a new blog from our Director of Regulation Dawn Hodgkins: https://lnkd.in/etihDTwp

It was great to contribute to this Mail on Sunday article on the importance of patients being aware of their right to choose where they receive their #NHS treatment, including in the independent sector. With #NHS waiting lists at record highs, it's vital that patients are fully aware of their all choices - our recent research has found that NHS patients on average can cut three months off their waiting time by travelling just 25 minutes to an alternative provider. As our CEO David Hare MBE makes clear in the article, patients should be able to discuss all their treatment options in full with their GPs, particularly given that our research has shown that tens of 1000s of appointments made available by the private sector every month for NHS care are not being used. There's also a brilliant patient story from Janet who received her NHS hip operation at Practice Plus Group in Southampton and says "I really don't think enough people realise that they have a legal right to choose where to have their NHS treatment – and that they can find shorter waits." You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/esiJMaNS

Sounds like a fantastic event showcasing the brilliant facilities that can be found in the independent sector! Congratulations Practice Plus Group and a great example of how the sector is investing in new services for the benefit of both NHS and private patients.

Our CEO David Hare MBE and Director of Regulation Dawn Hodgkins had a brilliant visit to one of our members, St Joseph's Hospital in Newport this week. David had the honour of opening their new Aquilion CT scanner - one of only two in the UK, and the first in a private hospital - and they were delighted to be given a tour around the hospital by its CEO Stuart Hammond and hear about how the hospital had changes since its establishment in 1946 by three nuns! St Joseph's ethos is to reinvest to support great care, and it was really clear from talking to all the staff there that delivering a fantastic patient experience with excellent clinical outcomes is the organisation's top priority. In particular, it was great to hear about their partnerships with the local NHS and the work that goes into making the patient pathway as smooth as possible, particularly for those who have to travel long distances for their care. It was also brilliant to hear the work they are doing in training and developing their workforce which has huge benefits for the wider healthcare system in Wales and beyond. A wonderful visit to a truly inspiring facility - diolch for having us!

Today sees the publication of Dr Penny Dash's review into the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which we were pleased to be part of the advisory group for. IHPN's firm view is that a strong independent regulator is an absolutely vital part of the healthcare landscape – providing both patients and the health system as a whole an informed and objective assessment of healthcare provision. We therefore welcome Dr Penny Dash’s final report into the CQC which rightly sets out both the importance and urgency of improving the regulator’s performance. This includes not only the need to deliver its fundamental role of carrying out timely inspections of services and the ability to update ratings effectively, but also how to more effectively assess new and innovative service models that are emerging. Moreover, with a health system currently under huge strain and in desperate need of new capacity, Dr Dash’s review makes clear that CQC must urgently prioritise clearing the unacceptable backlog in registrations of new health and care providers – helping enable new resources to be brought to local communities and improve patient access to care. Dr Dash’s review sets a clear roadmap to getting the CQC back on track, and it is now of utmost importance to patients, providers and commissioners of services that CQC works at pace to implement these necessary changes. IHPN looks forward to working with its new leadership team as they seek to turn the organisation around and re-establish the CQC as a regulator that both patients and healthcare providers can have confidence in. We also look forward to contributing to Dr Dash’s forthcoming review of the wider patient safety landscape to ensure it meets the needs of patients and the healthcare system as a whole. You can read our full response to today's report here: https://lnkd.in/eHNQ5WhJ

This Allied Health Professions (AHP) Day, we are shining a light on just a few of the thousands of incredible AHPs that work in independent healthcare. We spoke to Ami C. at HCRG Care Group on her role: "I qualified as a Physiotherapist in July 2021 and completed my band 5 rotations before progressing to my new role. In my current job, I work across two community hospital wards with the aim to reduce hospital-acquired de-conditioning. We mainly work with complex elderly care patients with the aim to get them back to their baseline and achieve their rehabilitation goals prior to being discharged.   "De-conditioning is when patients experience a functional decline through prolonged bed rest or inactivity and is one of the biggest unseen harms in hospital. My work aims to embed an active hospital approach across the wards to improve patients' well-being, overall experience of hospital and their individual outcomes. I really enjoy being able to lead and roll out initiatives designed to reduce hospital-acquired de-conditioning and work within a supportive team who strives to deliver excellent care to our patients.   "One successful initiative has been the Cubii Seated Exercise Project, designed to promote strengthening exercise and get inpatients moving more daily. The Cubii machines are seated elliptical machines with resistance levels from 1-8. They are simple to use with patients and are accessible for the majority, including the frailest. In June 2024, 55 different patients collectively pedalled over 127 hours on the machines. This is all additional exercise time alongside their normal therapy intervention. This project has seen us find a low-cost and efficient solution to get patients more active without needing to increase staffing levels or therapy space.   "As a person who possesses a strong passion for rehabilitation, I am always wanting to build on what we have achieved to reduce deconditioning and I will continue to promote how important regular movement is, especially in elderly care."