Confidential medical teams to help NHS England deal with Omicron surgery

NHS England has signed a three-month agreement with 10 health care groups, including Spire, Circle Health Group and Nuffield Health, to provide additional assistance in addressing staff shortages and the spread of the Omicron species of coronavirus.

The agreement – which will start on Monday and end on March 31 – aims to reduce the pressure on hospitals in England by encouraging them to send patients in need of NHS elective surgery or urgent cancer care to special offices. NHS England did not disclose the importance of the agreement.

Spire Healthcare he said it would provide an opportunity for NHS England “to reach 100 per cent of facilities and its units locally, regionally or nationally after the Covid-19 operation”. However, companies have continued treat patients individually and have the right to choose which cases to take.

The proliferation of Omicron species has added to the pressure on the NHS in England. Last week, 17 hospitals across Manchester announced the dismissal of unnecessary surgeries.

Hospitals have been asked to identify areas such as gymnasiums and training centers to create “advanced surgery” wards in addition to their regular routine. The government is in the process of rebuilding a temporary mini-nightingale facility at some hospitals as one way to create an additional 4,000 beds.

The need for emergency power follows the decline in NHS beds over the past 30 years. At the start of the epidemic, the UK had just 2.6 beds per 1,000 people, against 6.1 in France and 8.1 in Germany, according to data from the King’s Fund.

Sir David Sloman, head of operations and event manager for Covid at NHS England, said the agreement would set up “independent health care providers to provide additional care when hospitals encounter unstable hospitals or staff shortages.”

“As Nightingale’s are made across the country, we hope we will not need their help but it will be if it is needed,” he added.

However, there are questions about the additional amount that will be provided because private hospitals rely on the NHS medical staff to operate.

David Rowland, of the Center for Health and Public Interest think-tank, said: “Private hospitals can provide additional capacity to the NHS by relying on NHS staff, its medical advisers. in the NHS, many are ill because of Omicron. “

The alliance is the most recent of several agreements with private hospitals since the outbreak began. In March 2020, the government agreed to pay for basic services – including rent, interest and co-workers – for up to one year. Most of the power was not used as medical personnel, who are usually employed by the NHS but do other extra work, and were diverted to the hospital.

The cost of the 2020 contract has not been officially disclosed but the new system is thought to be more compliant and will work if there is a major operation in Covid 19 patients.

In 2021, private hospitals signed an agreement worth £ 10bn, a four-year agreement to take on NHS cases to end long-awaited waiting lists. Last year more hip and knee areas were provided in specialized hospitals than the NHS hospitals for the first time since the 1960s and 1970s, according to data analyzed by Candesic, a health care provider, for the Financial Times.