£1.2m fine for private hospital group found guilty of price fixing

Private hospital group Spire has been fined £1.2 million by the Competitions and Markets Authority after it was found guilty of instigating and facilitating an illegal arrangement with seven consultant ophthalmologists.

The Spire group has two hospital in Scotland, including one at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

The doctors have all admitted that they agreed to fix fees for initial private consultations for self-pay patients at £200 following a dinner organised by that hospital’s management and attended by five of the seven ophthalmologists, during which the topic of fees was raised.

The arrangement between Spire - which has two hospitals in Edinburgh - and the consultants, who all operated out of a Spire hospital in the north of England, continued for almost two years after they agreed by email after the dinner to all charge £200 for a consultation. Four of the doctors increased their fees, three others remained the same.

Michael Grenfell, executive director of enforcement at the CMA, said: “Initial consultations are an essential first step for people suffering from eye disorders. It is unacceptable that patients were unable to shop around and get the best deal because Spire and the consultants illegally set a minimum consultation fee.

“It is particularly disappointing that the CMA has had to take action in the private ophthalmology sector again, following a previous finding of anti-competitive practices in the sector in 2015. Today’s decision, and the subsequent fines, send a clear signal that we will not tolerate anti-competitive behaviour.”

The company apologised for the incident, at the Spire's Regency Hospital in Macclesfield.

It said: “Spire Healthcare apologises for its conduct and fully co-operated with the CMA in its investigation, agreeing to accept the CMA’s findings in full and settle the case with a fine of £1.2 million.”

It added that the quality of care for its patients had not been affected by the price fixing, and promised a new pricing system to avoid a repeat of the issue.The ophthalmologists were each fined between £642 and £3,859.