Member Article

Nuffield Health Newcastle welcomes patients choosing their care as part of new NHS agreement during Covid-19 pandemic

Nuffield Health, the UK’s largest healthcare charity, has welcomed the opportunity to support patients at its Newcastle Hospital with elective hospital care as part of the independent sector-wide contract extension with the NHS.

Matthew Lamb, Hospital Director at Nuffield Health Newcastle Hospital, explains: “We look forward to welcoming patients, who’ve had appointments and treatments put on hold, back onto our site and we are very grateful for their understanding.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has been a very disruptive and challenging time for all of us all and we will continue to support the Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and North Cumbria NHS Trusts by caring for NHS patients and assisting with wait lists, which will free up capacity across NHS sites.

“The new agreement allows us to care for NHS patients while offering people with insurance and people who wish to pay for their treatments access to more of our outpatient and diagnostic services.

“Our experienced infection prevention team have ensured that our hospital remains a safe and Covid-19 free location for all. The team are actively taking the temperature of each visitor, have effective PPE, and have implemented new zones to help maintain social distancing.”

A virtual tour of the social distancing measures and safety procedures in place across Nuffield Health’s hospitals is available on the Nuffield Health website.

In a recent nationwide survey of 3,217 Nuffield Health patients, 73% indicated they will reschedule their appointment within a month of being able to do so. Twenty per cent indicated they will delay their rebooking for 1-6 months, primarily due to Covid-19 concerns or due to timing issues, holiday plans or work and family commitments. Only 2% stated they would not rebook.

Steve Gray, Chief Executive at Nuffield Health, explains: “As the UK’s largest healthcare charity, we welcome this agreement with the NHS and we are committed to supporting patients, both NHS and those with health insurance or patients who choose to pay for themselves, who have had to wait for hospital care because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The revised agreement with the NHS expands the flexibility and level of care independent sector providers can offer people with conditions including cancer surgery, cardiac care, orthopaedics, spinal surgery which were previously assessed as ‘non-urgent’ during the first phases of the Covid-19 pandemic. By utilising available capacity within the independent sector, NHS and privately-funded patients can get the diagnosis and treatment they need faster, reducing waiting times and relieving the pressure on our fantastic NHS.

“So far, over 90,000 NHS patients have benefitted from the care provided at our 31 hospitals across the UK during the pandemic. This includes Covid-19 positive patients, those needing intensive care or oxygen support, those undergoing cancer treatment (shielding vulnerable patients from Covid-19), and those needing urgent surgery. We remain committed to providing additional capacity to NHS trusts and NHS patients as the pandemic continues to evolve.”

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