Soon-to-open hospital reports strong public interest
A private hospital due to open its doors in Birmingham later this summer is reporting strong interest from patients as public sympathy for striking NHS junior doctors falls.
According to OnePoll research, commissioned by Practice Plus Group Hospitals, people in the West Midlands are largely unsympathetic about the doctors’ industrial action over pay and conditions.
Their latest five-day strike ended today (Tuesday). Just one-in-five people in Birmingham city and surrounding towns feel sorry for them. Only the Welsh are less sympathetic at just 15%,
Practice Plus boss Jim Easton
Practice Plus Group Hospitals said the research data, compiled from a UK wide survey of 1,500 patients, revealed 35% of West Midlands patients surveyed said they had a health concern they wanted to see an expert about.
Chief executive Jim Easton said the region had been particularly badly hit by long waiting lists and it was understandable that sympathy was waning and the hidden backlog, where people had given up even trying to access help, was growing.
But he stressed people should seek the help they need and the NHS was ‘working hard to reduce waiting lists, including working with independent hospitals to see as many people as possible’.
His group is due to open a hospital in Birmingham, taking over what was The Edgbaston Hospital, previously part of Circle Health Group, in September. To be known as Practice Plus Group Hospital, Birmingham, the site is undergoing an extensive programme of renovation and reconfiguration.
Edgbaston Hospital
Core services available will be orthopaedic surgery, ophthalmology, diagnostic services including MRI and X-ray scans and endoscopy. Bookings are being taken from next month.
Hospital director Samantha Doubleday said: ‘We are looking forward to partnering with the NHS locally to unlock access to excellent healthcare for as many people as possible.
‘We also know from the calls we have received that there is demand in the area for our high quality, affordable private option for those people who want to pay or use their insurance for fast access to high clinical quality treatment.’
The survey found people in the West Midlands were more likely to report they are waiting for an operation (19%) or a scan (39%) than anywhere else in England and Scotland, with 19% saying they are waiting for an operation, and 39% believing they need a scan.
Eight-four per cent of the West Midlands respondents believed NHS industrial action has had an impact on waiting times, with 48% believing the impact is ‘huge’. sixty-seven per cent of those surveyed in the region reported feeling ‘very fearful’ that strikes will impact their booked appointments.