Private Acute Conference

Our Conference Chair will provide an introduction to the conference, to our sponsors and partners, and summarise the agenda.

Join us for one of the most highly anticipated sessions of the Private Acute Healthcare Conference, where we will present the latest market data from LaingBuisson, Healthcode, PHIN, and other sources. This session will cover key points: new cancer data, the shift to day-case and outpatient treatment, and economic and waiting list data alongside the latest data from Healthcode, PHIN and others. We aim to analyse paradigm shifts in UK private healthcare, and provide unique forecasts for 2024 on PMI, self-pay, NHS, and embassy hospital income. 

Delegates can interact with experts from Healthcode, PHIN, and LaingBuisson, and vote on forecasts using the 'wisdom of the crowds' approach. This data will be available to delegates completing a feedback questionnaire. 

In our opening keynotes, each speaker will discuss what is next for UK private healthcare, including PMI spending, the growth of self-pay, the impact of NHS waiting lists, and the increasing costs of cancer care. We will also start the discussion, picked up in our last session of the day, ‘Could the UK do anything differently?’

With these issues in mind, we will host prominent CEOs John Reay and Dr. Robert Lorenz who will share their insights on the industry while Dr Suba M will look more specifically to address cancer care costs sustatinability.

They will be joined by Matthew Swindells (former deputy Chief Executive of the NHS and currently Chair of the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative) who will be sharing his views on the results of the Elective Recovery challenge as well as his views on how the NHS and private sector can work together in the future.

As the world returns to post-pandemic normalcy, cancer care is in the spotlight for both the NHS and private healthcare sectors. Despite representing a small portion of claims, cancer accounts for over a quarter of PMI expenditure and is rapidly increasing. Managing these costs is crucial, but how can we approach it effectively and fairly? Failure to address this issue may result in access restrictions to cancer treatments, impacting customers reliant on comprehensive PMI coverage. This session will cover the entire patient pathway, including screening, diagnosis, drug and radiotherapy treatment, and palliative care, with a particular focus on the financial aspects of each step in the patient pathway. Insurers, hospital operators, clinicians, pharmaceutical companies, and medtech firms involved in cancer care are encouraged to engage in this valuable debate. An audience Q&A will follow this discussion.

Breast cancer is one of the largest areas of cancer spend, so we will pick up the morning’s themes and explore the latest advancements and insights in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. This session will cover a range of key topics, including the potential of AI to enhance breast cancer screening, new developments in both chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs, and how improved diagnostic pathways can provide better clinical outcomes. We will also hear from a leading GP about how easy she feels it is for her patients to navigate the current system. 

The focus of this session is on the challenge of turning enquiries into actual procedures for both hospital providers and insurers. The session explores the difficulties faced by hospital operators in convincing patients to pay for treatment after receiving a diagnosis, as well as insurers' need to demonstrate value to customers, particularly in the individual PMI space. The panel of experts aim to unravel this conundrum and share insights on bridging the gap between interest and action, while addressing value demonstration challenges. 

Orthopaedics has long been a significant spend for PMIs and a key component of private hospital activity. Considering this, AXA Health will be presenting exclusive internal analysis about enhancing quality and outcomes which will shape their approach with providers. In addition to this, we will look at post-operative rehabilitation that highlights important aspects of orthopaedic care, as well as hear about how Fortius’ acquisition of the Schoen Clinic might change the Central London landscape.

The healthcare settings landscape is ever evolving, and in this session, we will put a spotlight on the shift from inpatient to outpatient and day case treatments. We will explore the drivers behind this shift and dig into some of the numbers in order to examine whether there is still room for further progress. Everyone’s aim is to optimise the efficiency of this operation whilst ensuring high-quality patient care, but how does this work in practice?

In our final session of the day, the focus is on examining the structure of UK healthcare, encompassing both the NHS and private care, and exploring potential alternative models. 

While not advocating for a replication of the Australian healthcare system, the session aims to frame the debate by drawing insights from organisations with operations in both the UK and Australia, as well as leading UK think tanks. With a General Election due in 2024, and at the end of the party conference season, it seems an apt time to discuss ‘Could the UK do anything differently?’

Professor Allan Spigelman, an experienced oncologist with a background in both NHS and private practice in the UK and Australia, will provide valuable perspectives. Additionally, we are delighted to have Nick Costa and James Sherwood of Ramsay Healthcare UK and Bupa respectively, who have operations in both countries. Additionally, Sebastian Rees and Jordan Cummins from Reform and CBI, respectively, will provide their unique learnings and perspective from innovative think-tanks looking specifically at this subject.

The session will be held under the Chatham House Rule, fostering open and in-depth debate while respecting speaker anonymity.