Published: 14/02/2002, Volume II2, No. 5792 Page 20
Martin Rathfelder's letter (10 January) asking for evidence on the safety of private healthcare is disappointing, and surely no longer represents the majority view.
Increased co-operation between the public and independent sectors is providing increased levels of care for thousands of patients.
Mr Rathfelder says we are parasites, but ignores the fact that the work done in the sector saves the NHS, conservatively,£1bn a year.
He says we steal nurses, but it is a myth that the private sector lures away nurses. Approximately 96 per cent of nurses leaving the NHS leave the profession altogether. Only 4 per cent transfer to the private sector.
Mr Rathfelder asks for evidence that BUPA can produce better results than the NHS before any more joint initiatives are introduced. BUPA, like all good healthcare providers, is committed to delivering the best possible care for patients. To support this we collect outcome data on a systematic basis, which gives a measure of health gain (as opposed to mortality). However, the benefit to the healthcare system is not about BUPA delivering better results than the NHS; it is about providing equally good treatment for patients who do not need to wait so long.
Finally, does Mr Rathfelder ever consider the effect his views might have on the 750,000 people, including nurses and other staff working in independent hospitals, and many other parts of the independent sector, who share exactly the same desire to care and care well for patients as, hopefully, he does?
AJ Vallance-Owen Group medical director BUPA London WC2
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