A new three-month deal will see private hospitals and their staff put on standby to support the NHS with any surge in Coronavirus cases as the Omicron variant sweeps the nation.
NHS hospitals are also being asked to identify areas such as gyms and education centres which could be repurposed to create ‘super surge’ wards.
And new Nightingale hubs are also being created in the grounds of some hospitals as part of the drive to create up to 4,000 extra beds.
The news comes after the Government signed a deal with 10 independent healthcare operators - Practice Plus Group, Spire Healthcare, Nuffield Health, Circle Health Group, Ramsay Health Care UK, Healthcare Management Trust, One Healthcare, Horder Healthcare, Aspen Healthcare, and KIMS Hospital.
With the high number of Omicron cases placing even greater pressure on hospitals now, and over the coming weeks, this deal means as many people as possible can continue to get the care they need
The contracts, struck under direction from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, will enable NHS trusts to send a wider range of patients to the independent sector for treatment, including those requiring cancer surgery and other care not normally delivered under existing arrangements.
The independent sector surge capacity would only be triggered if COVID patients requiring treatment were to threaten the NHS’s ability to provide urgent care.
NHS England chief operating officer and COVID incident director, Sir David Sloman, said: “NHS staff have done an incredible job over the last year recovering elective treatment levels and then keeping non-COVID services going as pressures have built.
“As part of this millions of patients have already got their tests and treatment quicker thanks to our existing deal with independent providers.
Independent sector providers have worked shoulder to shoulder with the NHS throughout the pandemic, playing a key role in enabling vital NHS care including cancer and cardiology treatment to continue, while also maintaining services for private patients
“With the high number of Omicron cases placing even greater pressure on hospitals now, and over the coming weeks, this deal means as many people as possible can continue to get the care they need.
“It also places independent health providers on standby to provide further help should hospitals face unsustainable levels of hospitalisations or staff absences.
“Just like the Nightingale hubs being created across the country, we hope never to need their support, but it will be there if needed.”
Javid adds: “This agreement demonstrates the collaboration across our health care services to create an additional safeguard that ensures people can continue to get the care they need from our world-leading NHS, whenever they need it.”
Independent sector capacity has been used extensively throughout the pandemic and currently overall use is at almost 115% of pre-pandemic levels, covering over 470,000 day cases, almost 2,800,000 surgical procedures, and over 500,000 diagnostic tests in the last year.
The new deal with these independent sector organisations came into effect on 10 January and will run until the end of March, at which point local arrangements with those providers will resume.
This agreement demonstrates the collaboration across our health care services to create an additional safeguard that ensures people can continue to get the care they need from our world-leading NHS, whenever they need it
David Hare, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), said: “Independent sector providers have worked shoulder to shoulder with the NHS throughout the pandemic, playing a key role in enabling vital NHS care including cancer and cardiology treatment to continue, while also maintaining services for private patients.
“The arrangements being announced today, in response to a call by the Government and the NHS for further independent sector support during the Omicron wave of COVID-19, will help to bolster planned NHS care including cancer treatment this winter while ensuring that independent sector providers can continue to treat private patients.
“The arrangements will also provide the NHS with additional targeted support in the event that local NHS pressures are deemed as unsustainable”.