Hospital boss welcomes expansion of patient choice

The Government’s newly created ‘Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel’ made a series of recommendations to give NHS patients stuck on waiting lists the chance to choose faster treatment at a local private hospital. These include publishing data on appointments that are available at local private hospitals to NHS patients but going unused, more information for local GPs to help give patients the choice to be referred on the NHS to a private hospital with a shorter waiting list, and new powers for the panel to investigate restrictions on patient choice.

Thornbury Hospital has a long history of stepping up to support the NHS. During the Covid pandemic, staff rallied to deliver 3500 procedures over 16 months, helping many local NHS patients get urgent cancer, orthopaedic and paediatric treatment that would otherwise have been cancelled or postponed.

Thornbury Hospital welcomes the opportunity to support the wider healthcare system in Sheffield at a time when pressures are at an all time high.

Commenting, Kosta Antoniou, Executive Director of Thornbury Hospital, said:

‘This report – setting out new ways for us to work with the NHS to give patients the chance to choose faster care at Thornbury Hospital and help bring down waiting lists – is a great news for patients. We have a proud record of supporting the NHS and are committed to doing everything in our power to help.

The positive relationships built with the NHS locally during the pandemic showed that working collaboratively can and will benefit patients in desperate need of support. We stand ready to work with them again to help local NHS patients get the care they need in a timely manner.’