Private hospitals feeling the pinch

Published on Saturday 25 April 2009 20:00

THE number of uninsured patients paying for private health treatment has dropped by up to 20% because of the credit crunch, hospitals revealed yesterday.

The economic downturn has prompted hundreds of Scots to turn to NHS waiting lists rather than pay out thousands for a private operation.

Private health insurance companies yesterday insisted business remained "strong" but hospitals admitted a drop in the number of uninsured patients paying up front for operations.

Procedures which have proved popular for so-called self-pay patients, who do not have insurance but pay for an operation if they need one, include cosmetic surgery, hip and knee operations, gastric bands for weight loss, and minor procedures with long NHS waiting lists.

Until last year the number of Scots paying for operations out of their own pockets was on the rise and in 2006 the figure stood at around 8,500.

But a spokeswoman for one leading private hospital, the Spire Murrayfield Edinburgh, said the number of self-pay patients having operations has dropped 20% in the last year. "Our self-pay figures are down on last year but overall we are doing OK with the credit crunch because the number of patients coming in with private health insurance has gone up. The self-pay patients make up 35% of our overall business. But business from insured patients has gone up, and that may be because people are using what they have."

At Nuffield Health Glasgow Hospital, the number of procedures has not changed significantly over the past 12 months. However a spokeswoman said yesterday that there had been a drop in the numbers approved for interest-free loans for self-pay operations, a method used by up to 15% of patients. "Our acceptance rate has dropped from about 80% to about 50%, which is based on a credit check," she said. "We have an arrangement with Barclays, but people do not want to lend out money at the moment."

Self-pay is also down at BMI Healthcare's three Scottish hospitals: Fernbrae in Dundee, Albyn in Aberdeen and Ross Hall, Glasgow.

David Tennent, Scottish regional director at BMI Healthcare, said: "Private medical insurance has traditionally been the principle source of finance for patients at BMI's three hospitals in Scotland, and the insurance side of our business has remained steady over the past year. Self pay accounts for a much smaller percentage of our business. We have seen a very slight reduction in self-pay patients for some procedures, however there are other procedures, most notably weight loss and cosmetic surgery, where self-pay continues to grow despite the economic downturn."

The figures are reflected in a rise in NHS waiting lists. Although waiting times are down, the number of patients waiting rose from 54,792 in March 2008 to 55,634 in December.

Typical prices for surgery are 4,000 for breast implants or prostate surgery and 7,000 for a hip replacement. Private health insurance costs around 30 a month.

William Laing, director of Laing and Buisson, which specialises in health care analysis, said: "The number of people self-paying has gone down, but the number using medical insurance remains robust. It may be that those who have medical insurance for work, who are maybe worried about the threat of future redundancy, are going ahead with procedures now."

Feeling the pinch

Last year's rank, wealth and percentage change is in brackets

1. Lakshmi Mittal and family, steel – 10,800m (1, 27,700m, -61%)

2. Roman Abramovich, oil and industry – 7,000m (2, 11,700m, -40%)

3. The Duke of Westminster, property – 6,500m (3, 7,000m, -7%)

4. Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli, pharmaceuticals – 5,000m (6, 5,650m, -12%)

5. Hans Rausing and family, packaging – 4,000m (7, 5,400m, -26%)

6. Sir Philip and Lady Green, retailing – 3,830m (9, 4,330m, -12%)

7. Charlene and Michel de Carvalho, inheritance, brewing, banking – 2,960m (13, 3,630m, -18%)

8. Sammy and Eyal Ofer, shipping and property – 2,677m (15, 3,336m, -20%)

9> John Fredriksen, shipping 2,500m (8, 4,650m, -46%)

9> Joe Lewis, foreign exchange, investment 2,500m (19, 2,800m, -11%)

9> Kirsten and Jorn Rausing, inheritance, investment 2,500m (14, 3,500m, -29%)

9> David and Simon Reuben, property 2,500m (10, 4,300m, -42%)