Healthcare Markets

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.

Angel Acquisitions Ltd, an acquisition vehicle, owned by ACE Holdco, privately-held provider of business support services and Tosca Opportunity, the pooled investment fund, has bought Healthcare Locums plc.

Regulation in cosmetic interventions had fallen behind the times, and Sir Bruce’s review was well overdue. Fast remedies are necessary for patient safety and for the continued probity of some healthcare professions. IHAS Members have for some years developed and instituted voluntary standards and practices that closely accord with those instigated by the review.

Members of the Lords discussed the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No. 2) Regulations last month. It had been proposed that the regulations be annulled due to uncertainty as to whether they implemented the assurances, given by ministers during the passage of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, that NHS Commissioners would be free to commission services in the way they consider to be in the best interests of patients. The Lords voted not to annul.

The PMI Health Group, the employee healthcare services group, report and consolidated financial statements for the year to 30 June 2012 showed turnover up on the year to £9.5m (2011: £8.9m). Administrative expenses were high at £8.0m (£7.5m) leading to profit before tax of £1.5m (£1.4m). EBITDAR was £1.9m (2011: £1.8m).

Claremont Private Hospital in Sheffield has set up a new gynaecology service offering women fast access to consultations, diagnosis, advice and treatment.

Stephen Cook, Bupa Home Healthcare’s director of pharmacy, has called for the benefits of out-of-hospital care to be available fo more and more patients. Not surprisingly. Mr Cook said that there is increasing acceptance of the benefits for patients associated with providing healthcare beyond the traditional hospital setting, which means high-quality care can provided more conveniently for patients, while also creating significant cost savings for the hard-pressed NHS. He called on the healthcare sector to work together to assist NHS managers and clinicians in overcoming barriers to the introduction of out-of-hospital care so that they can make it a reality in their own organisations.

Bupa has enhanced its flexible health insurance product, Bupa by You, the tailored health insurance product, which allows people to choose what they are covered for. Customers can select an out-patient limit to bring down the cost of their premium. They can cap their out-patient cover for consultations, therapies and tests at £500, £750 or £1,000 or have no financial limits, so all costs are paid in full.

Almost half of GPs (48%) say they have seen waiting lists for NHS hospital referrals rise, and two in 41% say they have seen an increase in the number of patients asking about self-pay treatment options compared to a year ago, suggesting that many patients are turning to private self-pay treatment options as a response to increasing hospital waiting times. Younger GPs are more likely than older GPs to agree that they have seen an increase in the number of patients turning to self-pay treatment options. Spire Healthcare which commissioned the survey say the results suggest that GPs have faith in the private healthcare sector. 50% of GPs think the private sector offers good value for money for patients who seek self-pay treatment or use their private medical insurance. Dr Jean-Jacques de Gorter, clinical services director at Spire Healthcare, said: Our findings highlight that public attitudes towards private healthcare are changing. Patients are taking greater responsibility for their health and wellbeing and this is freeing up NHS resources where they are most needed.