Private care activity continues to recover
Latest data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) on private activity in the UK shows a ‘strong recovery’, it says.
Admissions in December 2020 were only 5% lower than December 2019, after a year dominated by Covid-19. This followed a relatively steady November when England went into a national lockdown.
2018, 2019 and 2020 (estimated) count of private admissions, with % change on the same month the previous year
There was a slight drop in activity in November but there were still over 60,000 private admissions. This was 10% lower than the number of admissions in November 2019.
The year ended relatively strongly, with activity back to only 5% lower in December 2020 compared with December 2019. While there was a fall in overall activity in December, this follows the trends set in 2018 and 2019, with elective treatment generally stopping over Christmas and new year.
Private activity by specialty as % total admissions
Looking at specialty split shows few significant changes in market share during the England lockdown in November. Trauma and orthopaedics (12%), general surgery (8%), and medical oncology (5%) maintained their relative market share during this period.
In December medical oncology grew from 5% in October and November, to 8% in December. This follows a familiar pattern where elective care tails off over Christmas while cancer care continues.
PHIN chief medical officer Dr Jon Fistein said: ‘The data suggests a strong end to a turbulent year in private healthcare. Although activity in December was down 5% on the same month the previous year, this is the closest to 2019 levels we have seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
‘This followed a fairly cautious yet stable November, during the second lockdown in England. Although some specialties did experience a small drop in activity, this was negligible, particularly when compared to the dramatic reduction across all specialties earlier in the year.
‘Patients were still able to access a broad range of healthcare services during this period.’
PHIN has provided a more detailed look at market progression by specialty via an interactive graph on its website.