Public 'agree with Tories'
on health funding
23 September 2009 Breaking News
There is widespread public support for greater collaboration between the private and public health sectors, according to an opinion poll commissioned by BMI Healthcare, the UK's largest private hospital operator.
The survey of 1,000 people and 150 MPs (including 44 Conservative and 82 Labour), conducted by COMRES, builds on the findings of an earlier poll of MPs which highlighted a divide between Labour and Conservatives on the future funding of healthcare, with the latter more in favour of the two sectors working more closely together.
The latest findings suggest that there may be greater synergy between the public's opinions and those of Conservatives MPs than Labour MPs. While over 60% of both the public and Tory MPs surveyed believe that patients should be able to part pay with their own funds in order to receive treatment more quickly, just 14% of Labour MPs surveyed agree.
Furthermore, 64% of the public believe that the NHS should pay for patients to go private, to reduce waiting times. This harks back to the "patient passport" proposed in the 2005 Conservative election manifesto which David Cameron helped to draft before rejecting the idea as leader of the party.
Three quarters of the public agree that it is "largely irrelevant" whether treatment is provided by the NHS or a private company, as long as the care is timely, compared to 93% of Conservative MPs and 49% of Labour MPs.
However, a survey carried out by the British Medical Association in June found that while 59% of the public support private involvement in the health service, almost half (47%) say there should be no further contracts for commercial companies to provide NHS services.
According to the Comres survey, around seven in ten of the public are in favour of claiming income tax back on private medical insurance and on any other healthcare fees paid out of private income. This again is closer to the views of Conservative MPs, although they are not as supportive - 48% support tax relief for all income levels and 55% support tax relief for private healthcare fees. This is in sharp contrast to Labour MPs, only 1% of whom support such measures. Only 10% of the population ‘strongly disagree' with the position.
While public support for investment in the NHS remains strong - 79% of people and 64% of Labour MPs are in favour of real term increases, compared to just 29% of Conservatives - only 37% of the public agree that the current model of free care at the point of delivery and funded by general taxation is sustainable, a position shared by 62% of Tory MPs.
Adrian Fawcett, chief executive of BMI Healthcare, said: "The results show that the British public are ready for a closer partnership between the public and private healthcare sectors, and would support healthcare reform and new approaches to funding provided it delivers more timely healthcare.
"It can no longer be argued that the healthcare debate is about geography or income. These findings show that the level of public support for measures such as co-payment, more flexible private and public sector funding and constructive use of tax measures to encourage greater uptake of private medical insurance is consistently high across all regions, and amongst all social groupings. The NHS will always be vital in delivering core health services for this country but the public clearly believe the private sector has a role to play in improving standards."
Full results of the survey can be found at www.comres.co.uk
Arrange a call back
