Health Services: Coronavirus

(asked on 12th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the details of the ministerial direction he has issued regarding the New Covid Surge Deal With the Independent Health Sector including providing (a) the costs of arrangements including how much the NHS will pay per patient, (b) what budget the money will come from and whether Trust budgets or NHSE and (c) whether the deal specifies if the private sector will be required to prioritise NHS patients over private patients.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 1st March 2022

The letter issuing the Direction was published on GOV.UK on 12 January 2022.

NHS England estimates a cost of £75 to £90 million per month whilst the ‘surge arrangements’ within the contract are not activated. If surge arrangements are activated, NHS England estimates the maximum cost of the arrangements to be £175 million per month. However, this is based on surge arrangements being activated nationally, which is considered to be unlikely. While prices are based on the National Health Service national tariff, it is not possible to provide the cost per patient as this is dependent on the type of activity completed, the minimum income guarantee when surge arrangements are not activated and the not-for-profit cost recovery model when they are.

Funding will be provided from the overall NHS budget and local systems will not face higher costs as a result of these new arrangements. If surge arrangements are activated, the NHS will have access to 100% of the facilities, staffing and resources of the independent sector provider in the affected system. When surge arrangements are not activated, the independent sector providers may continue to perform private work as usual.

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