Healthcare Markets

The Retreat York, the Quaker owned charity whose object is to provide care and relief to sufferers from mental illness, increased its income to £12.4m for the year ended 31 December 2012 from £11.2m the previous year. Total resources expended were £10.2m (2011: £9.8m) leaving, after net income of £448,000 (2011: £591,000), net incoming resources of £2.6m (2011: £1.9m). Gains on investment of £27,000 (2011: loss of £48,000), unrealised gains on investments of £563,000 (2011: £683,000) and an actuarial gain on the defined benefit pension scheme (2011: loss of £1.9m) led to a net movement in funds of £3.8m (2011: £654,000).

National Dental Plan, one of the largest providers of corporate dental plans in the UK, has launched two new individual dental solutions, Wisdom Benefits and Dencover. Both are available online.

The new NHS contract

Health Education England (HEE) has announced the Government’s Mandate to Health Education England, on NHS staff training and education that sets out plans for education and training for all NHS staff. It includes a target for 50% of all medical students to become GPs as part of a rebalance England’s healthcare towards a more community based system.

Bupa, the international healthcare group in the year ended 31 December 2012, saw global revenue up to £8,374m from £8,018m in 2011. Total claims and expenses were £7,845m (2011: £7,818m). Financial income of £125m (2011: £95m) and financial expenses of £70m (2011: £74m) meant profit before taxation was £584m, almost triple the £220m posted in 2011. Nearly all of this improvement’ can be explained by impairment charges for Bupa’s US based disease management company Health Dialog, which were £165.8m in 2011 and which, along with other impairment costs of the MBF brand in Australia transitioning to the Bupa brand, had contributed to the lower profit before tax that year. Growth for the business has been driven by increased profits, of 12% in Australia and New Zealand, of 7% in Spain and Latin America and 13% for the international private medical insurance (PMI) division.

Des Benjamin, the chief executive officer of healthcare provider Simplyhealth is to retire after 13 years of leading the company.

A new NHS contract to manage comprehensive primary healthcare services at HMP Bullingdon, near Bicester in Oxfordshire, has been awarded to healthcare provider Virgin Care. The contract was awarded by the local NHS in Oxfordshire. Virgin Care will deliver a range of nurse-led primary health care services, aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of those at the community training prison.

For HSF Health Plan, the health cash plan provider, for the year ended 31 December 2012, new policyholders increased 2.6% to 9,200 taking the total number of policyholders to 101,000. Total premiums over the year were £23.8m (2011: £23.5m) but less reinsurance premiums of £1.1m (2011: £1.1m) net premiums earned totalled £22.7m (2011: £22.4m). Claims paid were £17.2m (2011: £17.3m). Net operating expenses were £265,000 (2011: £431,000). Investment income increased over the year to £1.0m (2011: £459,000). Profit on ordinary activities before tax was £1m (2011: £970,000).

Spire Hospital Liverpool has appointed Jenny Vaughan as its new finance and commercial manager.

Bupa Finance plc, a subsidiary of Bupa, the international healthcare company, has issued £500m of fixed rate subordinated Notes due 25 April 2023. The Notes carry a coupon of 5% and are rated Baa3 and BBB by Moody's and Fitch respectively.