The UK’s No. 1 independent health care provider

outpatient visits per year

patient satisfaction rating of good, very good or excellent (Patient satisfaction survey carried out by Howard Warwick & Associates, Jan - Sept 2009)

Business review

BMI Healthcare, the acute private hospital division of General Healthcare Group, is the largest independent provider of private health care in the UK.

The Group has 67 hospitals and treatment centres throughout the UK, each having an enviable reputation for providing excellent medical and surgical facilities supported by state-of-the-art equipment and a high standard of nursing care.

BMI hospitals receive over 250,000 in-patient and 1,000,000 out-patient visits each year, and perform more complex surgery than any other independent private health care provider in the country. Nearly half the procedures undertaken for patients are of a major or complex nature.

BMI hospitals attract consultants from a wide range of specialties, most of whom have extensive experience gained within the NHS. Supported by BMI Healthcare’s high calibre staff, they are able to undertake a wide range of procedures from routine investigations to the most complex, high acuity cases such as cardiac surgery and neurosurgery.

Total health care spending in the UK reached £136 billion in 2008, compared with £60 billion a decade earlier, with the share of gross domestic product going to health rising to 9.4% from 6.9% in 1998, putting the UK roughly on par with the European Union average.

Pressures on the British health care system are likely to grow and forecasts looks challenging, with public spending across the board likely to be curtailed by crippling government debt over the next five years. Exacerbating the problem are the demographic realities of a sicker, ageing population, and the additional expense of new technologies being developed to treat them.

A June 2009 paper by the NHS Confederation, the membership body for the institutions making up the National Health Service, predicted that the NHS would face a “very severe contraction in its finance with an £8-£10 billion cut in real terms likely in the three years from 2011.” The King’s Fund, in a July 2009 report, discussed three potential scenarios for funding of the English NHS from 2011/12 to 2016/17: a “tepid” outlook, with annual real increases of 2% for the first three years and 3% for the final three years; a “cold” outlook of zero real change in funding; and an “arctic” scenario that foresees annual real reductions of 2% for the first three years, falling to 1% for the final three years. Given this lack of funding growth, there will be an increasing role for the private sector, even if NHS efficiencies can offset some of the budget pressure.

Falling NHS budgets will prevent capacity expansion, and cost savings may impact on quality in the NHS, further increasing demand for high quality private sector services offering choice of consultants, and high standards of cleanliness.

In 2009 General Healthcare experienced tough trading conditions due to the weak economy, and it is expected that challenging market conditions will continue to impact growth of the core business in the short term. However excellent opportunities for business development remain and smaller operators are seeking security through partnerships with larger organisations.

BMI Healthcare’s core focus remains on the private sector and providing quality health care for insured and self pay patients. BMI hospitals are connected to the NHS Choose and Book service and offer a range of services under the Choose and book. We have been very selective in listing Choose and Book services to ensure best utilisation of our spare capacity.