As the nation celebrates 70 years of the NHS, our much loved health service continues to find itself under huge pressure and having to make difficult decisions on where to direct their spend. Patients are facing longer waiting times for non-urgent surgery, with some procedures under threat.

According to the BBC, the number of NHS patients waiting for a hospital operation in England is at its highest for more than a decade with an estimated 4.2 million people waiting to be seen. This is a trend that we’re seeing year on year.

Latest figures from NHS England show that the number of people waiting more than one year for elective care has risen by 83% in the last 12 months. The government’s target to ensure that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment for elective procedures has not been met since February 2016.

David Hare, chief executive of the NHS Partners Network, has said there is a desperate shortage of elective capacity in the NHS, with patients having to wait ever longer for vital procedures such as hip operations and cataracts which cause significant pain and disruption if left untreated.

What’s more, the NHS is also proposing to stop or reduce 17 routine procedures. This is a concern for patients who need these types of treatments, and also for employers, who need to keep their staff well, productive and at work.

With NHS waiting lists not looking like they’ll be getting shorter anytime soon and with the prospect of some operations no longer being available, our Surgery Choices cover can help fill this gap. It’s been designed to help relieve NHS waiting lists and enable as many people as possible to access non-urgent surgery quickly, and at an affordable price.

Supporting your clients and their employees. 

Surgery Choices provides staff with immediate cover for new conditions and access to prompt private medical treatment for a whole range of conditions (excluding heart and cancer). Although we don’t cover cosmetic procedures, Surgery Choices does cover over half of the treatments that the NHS is planning to stop, including surgery for tonsillectomy for sore throats, haemorrhoids and carpal tunnel syndrome release.

With Surgery Choices, employees are treated quicker and employers benefit from fewer absence days. If you want to find out about our private surgery options, please give me a call on 07918 903679 or email me at christopher.walmsley@WestfieldHealth.com