New IHPN report: Improving Cancer Outcomes - Strengthening collaboration between the NHS and independent sector

Independent healthcare providers are calling for more to be done to tackle the unnecessary barriers faced by growing numbers of cancer patients who are choosing to access their care in both the NHS and private sector.

A new report from the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) looks at the increasing role of the sector in delivering care for cancer patients – with one in five of all NHS MRI and CT scans and nearly half of all PET-CT scans currently delivered by independent providers. Alongside this, more people are now choosing to go private for their cancer treatment with around 320,000 private cancer admissions between 2022 and 2025, and chemotherapy now the second most commonly paid for healthcare treatment.

Despite this growing contribution, with patients increasingly moving between NHS and independent providers throughout their cancer journey, too often patients encounter avoidable barriers when moving between providers which has a detrimental impact on both patient experience and outcomes.

This is backed up by a recent NHS Resolution report which found that independent providers are often unable to make direct urgent suspected cancer referrals into NHS services when a private patient requests transfer to NHS care. Instead, patients may be required to return to their GP to begin the referral process again – creating unnecessary duplication, delay and administrative burden despite a qualified clinician having already made a clinically informed decision to refer.

IHPN are therefore calling for greater collaboration between the NHS and independent sector to improve both patient care and efficiency across the healthcare system, including:

And with the Government’s recent National Cancer Plan committing to ensuring all three cancer waiting time standards are met by the end of this Parliament – saving 320,000 more lives by 2035 – IHPN are also calling an expansion of NHS patient choice rights in cancer diagnostics to support faster diagnosis and better use of available capacity, along with more opportunities for independent providers to participate in national cancer research and clinical trials, widening patient access to innovation.

Danielle Henry, Director of Policy at IHPN, said:

“With growing numbers of patients mixing and matching NHS and private cancer treatment, it’s vital that the health system architecture keeps pace with this – ensuring patients experience a seamless cancer journey, regardless of where they receive their care.

“However, we know that too many cancers patients – already dealing with a hugely stressful time in their life – are facing huge barriers as they move between NHS and independent providers – grappling with a system which creates unnecessary delays, duplication and significant administrative burden for them.

“Cancer does not recognise organisational boundaries and neither should cancer care. We therefore want to see much greater collaboration between the NHS and independent sector – including more effective sharing of patient records to reduce duplication and support continuity of care, along with stronger integration to ensure clinicians can work together more effectively – helping improve both patient experience and outcomes and ultimately saving lives.”

Read the full report here.