Patients: Delivering High-Quality, Personalised Care

The strongest theme that came across in our research was pride in delivering patient care. Staff described the independent sector as a place where they could “do the job they trained to do, properly” – providing care that was personalised, comprehensive and patient-centred. Core to this was the drive from management that the most important thing was to deliver the best care to patients.

Several factors underpin this sense of quality:

• Time and resources: Staff reported having the time to focus on patients’ needs, supported by appropriate staffing levels and equipment. This includes being able to provide an intensity of care that make a significant difference to patient outcomes.
  
  
• Complex care: Independent providers are increasingly caring for patients with more complex needs or long stays, challenging outdated assumptions that the sector only delivers routine elective care. This enables staff to expand their own practice, deliver the most impactful interventions and develop longer term and meaningful relationships with patients and their families.
  
  
• Therapeutic intensity: Allied health professionals particularly highlighted the opportunity to provide more intensive therapy and rehabilitation – taking patients beyond a few sessions of support to the restoration of key movements and associated quality of life.
  
  
• Emotional fulfilment: Staff spoke movingly of patient journeys that demonstrated the difference they could make.

Key Findings:

• Staff believe they can deliver higher-quality, more personalised care
  
• Providers are handling increasingly complex patient needs
  
• Staff derive significant emotional fulfilment from their work
  
• Patient-centred culture is a unifying theme across the sector
  
  

“From a neuro rehab point of view, the intensity and holistic care we’re able to provide is transformative. For me, that makes a huge difference to both patient outcomes and staff enjoyment of the role. I remember a patient who came to see us at the Portland as an outpatient. He had been discharged shortly after a head injury as he was deemed safe for discharge but was still very impaired. We were able to support him with an intensive program of MDT rehab for several months – our support enabled him to return to playing football with his friends and communicate with his family again – making a significant difference to his quality of life and that of his family.”

Tamsin Reed, Head of Therapies and Rehabilitation at The Portland Hospital, HCA Healthcare UK

“The thing that’s kept me coming back to private care is what we do for patients, the level of care that patients get, the quality and the feedback we get from them. The staff go over and above constantly – they have the time and resources to do it.”

Kathryn Young, Client Services Manager at Homelink Healthcare