Public Support for Insourcing
Here, we discuss the return to Payment by Results (PbR) with a focus on the Elective Recovery Fund (ERF), which signifies significant changes in UK healthcare funding for 2023-24.
As experienced healthcare professionals, we know the values of insourcing in helping NHS trusts clear the backlog and improving patient outcomes. But we also wanted to know what the public thinks about insourcing.
We worked with YouGov to undertake polling of 2,004 British adults in early March 2023 to find out what the public’s opinion was of the general insourcing model and the NHS using more independent health providers to cut waiting times.
The results are fascinating and demonstrate the public’s support for increased use of independent health providers to tackle the tremendous strain on NHS services.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of those polled support the NHS using more independent health providers to perform NHS operations or treatments, if they remained free to patients and helped to cut waiting times
71% of those polled support independent health providers utilising NHS facilities at times when they are not currently being used (e.g. during evenings and at weekends) to perform NHS operations or treatments if they remained free and cut waiting times
Almost nine out of ten (88%) said that it was important that any treatment is performed somewhere local to them
The results show wide spread support across all age groups for independent health providers performing NHS operations and utilising NHS facilities when they are not being used. Support was particularly high amongst older members of the public, with four out five respondents aged 65 and above being supportive. The results also demonstrate the overwhelming importance placed by the public on both being treated locally (88%) and that their treatment is provided at an NHS facility (61%).
This data clearly shows that the public supports both the concept of insourcing, and 18 Week Support’s operating model as all our work is provided in NHS trusts with patients being treated in the comfort of their local hospitals.