US private hospital opening in Central London

[Jules-and-Boo]

Very ominous for NHS and our healthcare.

Opening in the summer and recruiting doctors from NHS on US style pay packages...

Literally draining resources from our underfunded NHS and increasing the division between free and private healthcare.

Loving the tories.

[Chick]

That's Brexit for you.

[Hamletter]

Jules-and-Boo Wrote:

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> Very ominous for NHS and our healthcare.

> Opening in the summer and recruiting doctors from

> NHS on US style pay packages...

> Literally draining resources from our underfunded

> NHS and increasing the division between free and

> private healthcare.

>

Tell us more about it. If it is a private hospital funded by investment from the USA then that's nothing new about that. There are plenty of Private Healthcare Hospitals in the UK already.

In most advanced countries, health care is provided by a blend of public and private (via insurance) funding. Check out the Australian, Israeli and German health systems. In all three of these the Covid death rate in hospital has been a fraction of the rate in the UK.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nhs-world-ranking-uk-healthcare-worse-ireland-spain-slovenia-30th-lancet-a7744131.html

[Spartacus]

It's similar to BUPA hospitals I suspect, where NHS consultants also do private work in tandem to their full time jobs.

It could well be related to the new US embassy in Vauxhall and the increase in American workers over here at the moment (wild guess)

If it's just one hospital then it's not a big concern, but if the first of many then it possibly warrants a bit of concern.

[Jules-and-Boo]

My friend?s a surgeon and she was explaining that usually NHS doctors move between private work and the NHS hospitals. This new one is a new set up where the doctor are only working there (ie no longer working for NHS)

Just found this about it too.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/us-hospital-cleveland-clinic-london-nhs-doctors-private-sector-b924181.html

[mac4]

What on earth has brexit got to do with it ?

[Hamletter]

As Spartacus said " NHS consultants also do private work" and the reality is that they are naturally biased towards doing private consultations/surgery because that's where the real money is. So one could suggest that the NHS is disadvantaged because of these divided loyalties. Don't forget also most GP's are partners in practice based partnerships. They also do private consultations.

A private hospital with private investment from the USA will doubtless be staffed initially with specialists from the USA where there is a higher level of medical expertise.

Also, in all probability, a large percentage of their patients will be expatiates - particularly from the Middle East and they are prepared to pay unlimited amounts for top grade treatment. These M.E. expats already make massive use of the existing private hospital capacity. This demand provides employment opportunities here in the UK. Any new large scale medical investment, such as this, would further enhance London's chances of becoming a global centre for health services.

Rather than being detrimental, it would be of significant benefit to the UK!

The article in The Standard is every bit of a scare story that helps sell newspapers.

[malumbu]

Over here, taking our women, then our funerals, and now our NHS.

Haven't got anything useful to say, but worked with the funeral trade twenty years ago when the American's were buying up businesses. Not sure if that is still the case.

[Jules-and-Boo]

Nice thought Hamletter but my friend said they are after the NHS staff.

While you say NHS doctors prefer private consultancy, that?s not entirely the case and the NHS retains many of the best doctors as they are able to do both...and they choose to work at the NHS hospitals.

The new hospital will hire them exclusively and mean that that resource is not available to the NHS anymore.

It?s not as rosy as you are suggesting and actually ominous for the NHS. It?s not scaremongering. It?s what?s actually going on.

[Hamletter]

malumbu Wrote:

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> Over here, taking our women, then our funerals,

> and now our NHS.

>

> Haven't got anything useful to say, but worked

> with the funeral trade twenty years ago when the

> American's were buying up businesses. Not sure if

> that is still the case.

Well they didn't get too far with that.

The two biggest funeral operators, by a wide margin, are The Co-operative Group (CWS Ltd) and Dignity Caring. Both are UK based and the latter is a listed company on the London Stock Exchange.

[Spartacus]

malumbu Wrote:

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> Over here, taking our women, then our funerals,

> and now our NHS.

>

Thank the stars and stripes they didn't change our viewing culture, diets or start an illegal war for the oil ....

[????]

I thought our healthcare professionals were the most wonderful altruistic people on the planet. What have we got to worry about?

[heartblock]

Still have to pay their mortgage and eat....actually I have worked in private practice and NHS, pay wasn?t too much different, in general less interesting cases and far more worried, rich well. If anything was very complex they were treated in an NHS unit as private units are not equipped for the expense of intensive care for long term cases such as Covid for example.