According to the HSJ NHS England has invoked a ‘surge’ clause in its Covid contracts with private hospitals and given six private hospitals in London a week’s notice that their entire capacity is to be taken over by the NHS to ensure hundreds of urgent cancer operations can go ahead.
The surge clause allows the NHS to override the commercial priorities of private hospitals which would otherwise continue treating insured or self-pay private patients to keep income flowing in.
However the HSJ report suggests it’s likely the NHS will have to pay higher fees to BMI Healthcare which owns five of the hospitals and to Aspen Healthcare.
Full story in The Lockdown, 22 January 2021
