Dear faithful SCH reader, welcome to your March edition of your favourite monthly health news media roundup! With 3 as always carefully chosen articles highlighted, as we start to enjoy the beautiful spring sunshine, after 48 editions since January 2021 it is with some sadness that I announce that after agreeing a change of direction with my ‘parent’ directly authorised broker firm Sante Partners, this is the last planned monthly health news update, so please it enjoy more than ever!

19^th January: Daily Mail – Record Number of Patients are choosing to go Private for cancer and heart care to avoid long NHS wait lists, figures reveal

Record numbers of patients are paying for private cancer treatment and heart surgery rather than risking waiting for NHS care. Chemotherapy at private hospitals jumped by almost a fifth in 12 months, the biggest surge in any procedure.

MRI scans, used to diagnose serious health conditions, leapt by nearly a third while blood tests are up 41 per cent, according to the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN). Vital heart treatments, such as valve repairs and replacements, are also on the rise with doctors warning patients are caught up in the ‘worst heart care crisis in living memory.’

The Daily Mail can reveal thousands felt they had ‘no choice’ but to pay for care just weeks after the Prime Minister announced how the private sector will be instrumental in reforming NHS elective care. Appointments delivered by the private sector are expected to increase by at least a fifth to more than 6 million each year. But the expansion is expected to take years with critics questioning how the extra appointments will be delivered given the country’s shortage of healthcare staff. Experts said that while many are using private insurance to expediate treatment, others are relying on savings to fund potentially lifesaving care.

Leading oncologist and chair of Radiotherapy UK, Professor Pat Rice, said patients were being pushed to go private through ‘desperation.’ The chairman of Radiotherapy UK said: ‘Dangerous delays to cancer care have become the norm, so cancer patients are doing whatever they can to get treatment on time.’ She said: ‘While the government tells us they plan to fix the NHS, we desperately need to see action because cancer patients are falling through the cracks. We simply cannot accept a two-tiered system where if you can’t pay you face delays.’

Hospitals are supposed to treat 85 per cent of patients within 62 days of receiving an urgent referral. But NHS England figures show more than four out of five were failing to meet the threshold with several thousand waiting too long to start treatment each month, following a referral. A recent poll found two in three patients undergoing cancer treatment (66 per cent) admitted they were worried NHS pressures would affect their chances of survival.

These fears have seen privately funded chemotherapy increase from 15,030 to 17,630 sessions in the second quarter of 2023 and 2024 respectively, according to the latest data available. Record numbers of heart patients have also opted for private care rather than risk waiting in excess of a year for some treatments, with then oftentimes further rescheduling, far too often multiple times. Thousands have undergone procedures including valve repairs, cardiac ablation and had pacemakers fitted privately, often costing upwards of £10-20,000.

The British Heart Foundation said NHS delays were increasing the risk of patients becoming disabled from heart failure or dying prematurely, with more than 420,000 waiting too long for time-critical treatment. The crisis in public healthcare has seen businesses increasingly offering healthcare insurance as a ‘perk’ of employment. Private hospitals reported 232,000 admissions in the three months to July 2024, the highest ever for that period with numbers expected to rise further in winter. Richard Wells, director of PHIN, said overall admissions were 21 per cent above the same period in 2021. He said: ‘The long NHS waiting lists, and especially the backlog that built up through the pandemic period, have certainly had an impact on the number of people opting to have their treatment in the private sector.’

6^th Daily Mail – You want to see a doctor? Your chances are now less than 50-50

Less than half of GP appointments are now actually with a doctor as patients are increasingly ‘fobbed off’ with other staff. Most consultations in general practise were led by nurses, pharmacists and physician associates for the first time last year, NHS figures reveal.

GPs are now outnumbered by other colleagues by almost three to one. But a decade ago there were as many of them as other clinical staff in surgeries. There were a  record 329million GP appointments in England last year in which the role of the healthcare professional was known. But just 162.5million (49.39 per cent) were conducted by a GP.   

Surveys show satisfaction with general practice has fallen to an all-time low, fuelled by the difficulty of getting through on the phone and securing face-to-face care. Exclusive polling for the Mail in December found that just one in three adults (36 per cent) were confident they could get a GP appointment. The NHS has been encouraging surgeries to hire a wider range of clinical staff after failing to recruit and retain enough doctors, who typically cost more to hire and take a decade to train.

This includes physician associates (PAs), who can take a two-year postgraduate course in healthcare after an undergraduate degree in subjects such as geography and human resources. The Royal College of General Practitioners says PAs should not have a future in general practice after their use was linked to fatal misdiagnoses and patient deaths. There were 28,197 fully qualified, full-time equivalent GPs in England at the end of December 2025 – up by 710 compared with the end of the previous year, but down from 29,320 in the same month in 2016.

Dr. Katie Bramall-Stainer, chairperson of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said a lack of funding and NHS schemes aimed at boosting non-medical staff were hampering efforts to recruit doctors. She added: ‘We face a bizarre situation. We are short of GPs and patients are left waiting, but GP job adverts are increasingly rare and GPs can’t find work.’

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said members of the wider practice team should not be seen as substitutes for GPs. But she added: ‘Not all patients need to see a GP. Routine procedures such as blood tests or issuing repeat prescriptions can be carried out by other members of the team. What’s important is that no member of a GP team is given clinical responsibilities beyond their competence.’

27^th The Standard – Norovirus: Health bosses warn of second wave of winter vomiting bug as new strains circulate

Health leaders have warned of a “potential second norovirus wave” – with people catching the vomiting bug more than once. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said people who have already had the virus this winter could be at risk again due to a shift in which strains are becoming dominant.  

The organisation – which tracks lab reports of the sickness bug – said having had one type of the norovirus does not fully protect against other strains. Its data shows the recently emerged G11.17 genotype of norovirus ha seen a surge in cases this winter but a different, commonly seen, genotype – G11.4 – is now on the rise. While the G11.17 genotype remains dominant, accounting for 59% of cases, its prevalence has dropped from 76%since November. Meanwhile, the G11.4 strain has seen a sharp rise, now representing 29% of cases compared to just 10% three months ago. The UKHSA reassured people that there is no indication that either G11.17 or G11.4 leads to more severe illness but said it is unclear whether norovirus cases have peaked for this winter.

Amy Douglas, lead epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said: “Norovirus levels are still exceptionally high and now with multiple genotypes spreading at the same time, people could end up getting infected more than once this season. We are seeing the biggest impacts in health and care settings, such as hospitals and care homes. Symptoms of norovirus can be more severe in older adults, young children and those who are immunocompromised. If you have diarrhoea and vomiting, please do not visit hospitals and care homes or return to work, school or nursery until 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped, and don’t prepare food for others, as you can still pass on the virus during this time. Alcohol gels do not kill norovirus. Wash your hands with soapy warm water and clean surfaces with bleach-based products where possible to help stop infections from spreading.”

It comes as new data from NHS England shows hospital norovirus cases remain close to the record high seen last week, with an average of 1,134 patients per day in hospital compared to 1,160. The figure is more than double (up 141%) the same period last year (470). NHS England said visits to the NHS.uk webpage on norovirus have risen by 40% in the last week – from 53,052 to 74,324. Meanwhile, the UKHSA lab data – representing a fraction of cases in the community – show confirmed cases in the two weeks from February 3 to 16 were 29.4% higher than the previous fortnight, and more than double the five-season average for the same period. For every case reported in this national data, around 288 cases occur in the community, suggesting around three million cases annually in the UK.

  *******************************************

So there you have it good people, that’s you lot for March 2025, and indeed likely for good, however please be assured that I’m still very much engaged in this industry having done so since 1998, therefore for 27 years now! So if you, or anyone you know, EVER need any Private Medical Insurance advice, assistance or guidance, with full Market Reviews provided as always without cost or obligation, please continue to make contact. Enjoy the brighter weather, with the conclusion of the 6 Nations rugby, as the football season enters the home straight, there’s lots to look forward to.

All the very best,

Yours sincerely

Daniel Donoghue

MD, Surrey Circle Health

‘Whole of Market’ Specialist Private Medical Insurance Brokers