Patients predicted to go private
Patients are being tipped to increasingly turn to private healthcare for treatment due to growing concerns they have about the state of the NHS.
At the same time the independent sector is attracting increasing numbers of doctors and experienced staff as they look to boost their income, according to a senior consultant.
Dr Greg Williams
Dr Greg Williams, who edits the journal of the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF), forecasts that the multispecialty organisation is now set to see a rise in its 1,500+ membership.
Writing in the latest IDF News, he reflects on NHS healthcare colleagues’ unprecedented levels of discontent driving them to strikes and patients’ increasing waiting times to be seen and undergo procedures.
Dr Williams, a hair transplant surgeon who has worked fully in private practice for the last decade, says the Covid-19 pandemic no doubt took its toll on the goodwill of staff that held the NHS together for so long.
Brexit and the war in the Ukraine had impacted the economy and, with inflation, many healthcare workers earned relatively less than the year before.
‘Some of them are turning to the private sector for practice or employment. Furthermore, patients who are frustrated with delays in their care will turn more and more to private care. The IDF will therefore continue to grow and represent unity despite its multispecialty make-up.’
He is urging IDF members to tell other doctors about the federation to help it develop a stronger voice.
