Quality in independent health providers hits all time high as sector treats record number of patients

The proportion of independent healthcare providers rated “good” or “outstanding” has hit the highest ever level as the sector continues to treat record levels of both NHS and private patients.

New analysis of official safety and quality data from across the sector has found that overall 92% of independent sector hospitals are rated overall good or outstanding by the healthcare regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – a significant improvement since 2018 when around 70% achieved that rating.

These high levels of quality can be found across the independent sector with good or outstanding ratings achieved in:

• 85% of diagnostic imaging services by independent providers
• 92% of independent community healthcare providers
• 94% of independent doctors

The Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), which represents independent providers delivering both NHS and privately funded care, have conducted research looking at a broad range of official datasets to evaluate quality and safety in key areas across independent healthcare.

Part of this includes looking at patient access to timely healthcare which is increasingly being seen as an issue of quality given its profound impact on patients’ lives. While the volume of NHS activity carried out by independent providers has increased in recent years – with 1/5 of all NHS operations now delivered in the sector – waiting times remain considerably lower at independent providers compared to their NHS peers.

Overall, 275 people are waiting at independent providers per 100 people treated each month, compared with over 500 people waiting for every 100 receiving treatment in the NHS. Swift access to NHS care in the independent sector can be seen most clearly in ophthalmology, where the average waiting time in an independent provider is just 8 weeks, compared to around 21 weeks at NHS providers.

New analysis also shows that patients treated in independent providers are themselves reporting high quality outcomes. The NHS’ latest Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) data shows over half of the top 10 providers for both hip and knee adjusted health gain are from the independent sector, with PROMS data showing 98% of private patients reporting their conditions improved after a hip replacement, and 93% for knee replacements.

IHPN’s report also notes the work the sector doing to help support and empower its staff to drive through improvements in patient safety and develop a culture of openness and learning, including:

• Increasing the numbers ofFreedom to Speak Up Guardians in the sector by 50% in the last year to over 500 in total.
• Establishing new Patient Safety Specialists which are a requirement for all organisations delivering NHS-funded care with almost one third of all PSSs in the health service now found in the sector

While independent providers are also continuing to submit significant amounts of data to key national registries – with half of National Joint Registry (NJR) Data quality gold award winners as well as Joint Advisory Group on GI Endoscopy (JAG) accredited sitesare nowfrom the independent sector – IHPN are continuing to call for more openness and transparency around patient safety to better understand the quality of care provided. 

Indeed, with increasing numbers of patients choosing to be treated in the independent sector for both their NHS and privately funded care, IHPN are calling for more work to be done to remove the barriers faced by providers in submitting data to national audits, including tackling information governance issues; ensuring the sector is incorporated into the design phase of any new audits to stop issues occurring in their implementation; as well as enabling independent providers to have the same visibility of analysis about data they submit as NHS organisations so they can effectively benchmark and improve the quality and efficiency of their services.

Dawn Hodgkins, Director of Regulation at IHPN, said:

“With record numbers of both NHS and private patients being treated in the independent sector, it’s hugely welcome to see that the overall standards of quality and safety in the sector continue to improve, from what was an already very high level.

“Whether it’s shorter waiting times, patients’ own experiences of their care, or the view of independent audits or regulators, independent providers are demonstrating that they are prioritising delivering safe, accessible, high quality care for patients, with a real culture of learning and improvement within their organisations.

“But with the healthcare regulatory landscape currently under review and significant changes expected in the coming months, independent providers are not complacent, and IHPN will continue to work to ensure this new landscape fully takes account of the growing numbers of patients who are choosing to be treated in the sector and supports patients to make the best possible decisions around their healthcare.”