By Vivienne Russell | 20 February 2012
NHS hospitals improve from competing with each other but not with the private sector, a study says.
Research by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics found that patients being treated at NHS hospitals where there was a great deal of choice in the public sector spent less time in hospital both before and after surgery.
In contrast, NHS hospitals whose local competition came only from the private sector did not perform as well, and patients were kept in for longer. But the researchers found they also tended to treat older and less well off patients, suggesting that younger and more affluent patients were going into the private sector.
Zack Cooper, one of the authors of the study, said: ‘Competition has been hotly debated in the NHS over the past year. Our study highlights the benefits that competition can provide but it also underscores the need for a strong active regulator to guard against providers cherry picking the easiest cases.
‘Hospitals need to be competing to offer excellent care and better service. But we need to make sure that it is not more profitable for them to avoid treating certain potentially more costly patients.’
The study’s findings are published as the prime minister hosted a summit in Downing Street to continue his push for NHS reform.
The contentious Health and Social Care Bill proposes opening up the NHS to more competition from private and voluntary sector providers.
The summit has been criticised for excluding major professional groups that have expressed opposition to the health reforms, including the British Medical Association, Royal College of GPs and Royal College of Nursing.
