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NHS SHORTCOMINGS DRIVING PATIENTS TO PRIVATE


HEALTHCARE There has been rapid growth in the self- pay private healthcare market, driven by pressure on NHS funding and lengthening waiting lists, and the wide variety of prices available to patients who are prepared to “shop around” for private treatment, according to a new report.


The research, released on Monday 11th September 2017, was produced by Intuition Communication- publishers of private healthcare web portal Private Healthcare UK- was compiled through an online survey, interviews with leading figures in the UK private healthcare


EXPERTS DESIGN ANIMATED HOUSE TO SHOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE WITH


DEMENTIA AllClear Travel Insurance teamed up with Dementia Friends to raise awareness during World Alzheimer’s Month this September.


Together, they have illustrated a series of household analogies designed to explain what it can be like to live with dementia.


This collection of illustrations forms one big animated ‘Dementia House’.


Visitors to the interactive webpage can educate themselves about the effects of living with the condition by scrolling down through each room.


One example you come across is the bookshelf analogy:


When dementia affects a person’s brain, the bookshelf begins to shake. The books at the top are less stable, and so will fall first. The books in the middle and at the bottom are more likely to remain. As a result, people with dementia oſten think they’re younger


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market and the analysis of 6,500 prices for private operations, treatment and scans.


According to the findings, providers and commentators reported annual growth of 15% to 25% in the number of patients without health insurance who are using savings or loan finance to fund private operations.


The researchers determined that the driving factors for this growth are longer NHS waiting times; the increasing cost of private medical insurance, which is encouraging older people to fund private healthcare from savings; and marketing initiatives and financing schemes from the major providers.


The report concluded that the growth in self-pay treatment is being seen particularly in orthopaedics, ophthalmology, general surgery, vascular, ENT and cancer treatment.


than they actually are. And can forget the most recent years of their lives.


Another example is the shower analogy:


Imagine you’re in the shower, and someone downstairs turns a hot tap on. The shower goes freezing cold. That instant, the unexpected switch from hot to cold is very confusing – even infuriating. One of the effects of dementia is an instant, unexpected switch in mood - or even personality.


Sometimes, it’s not a choice for the person to be angry with you. Their mood has simply been changed as a symptom of dementia.


There is even an analogy about Christmas lights:


Aſter a year stuck in the attic, Christmas tree lights tend to be a bit worse-for- wear. Some of the lights flicker, whilst others are broken completely. Your neighbour will have the same problem. But their broken lights will be different to yours. With dementia, it’s very much the same. Each person with dementia experiences the disease differently. They all have different lights that are on, and those that are broken.


There are many more animated household analogies that articulate the effects of dementia throughout the entire house. Some of these are well-


known facts, whilst some address the various stigmas around the disease that a lot of people may not be aware of.


Garry Nelson, from AllClear Travel Insurance, said: “AllClear firmly believes that everyone deserves the right to continue to travel and we see no reason why people living with dementia should be denied that opportunity. Dementia in its many guises has certainly affected some of my friends and family members alike.


“By raising as much awareness of the condition as possible, we can all hopefully be a lot more tolerant and understanding to those who live with the symptoms.”


www.allcleartravel.co.uk/dementia-house www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


Also, widely publicised restrictions on NHS funding for cancer drugs is fuelling the growth in self-pay oncology.


Keith Pollard, CEO of Intuition Communication, says the Private Healthcare UK Self-Pay Market Study 2017 highlights the growth of affordable private healthcare.


Keith explained: “There’s no doubt that NHS waiting lists are at the heart of this growth in self-pay. However, the Competition and Market Authority’s investigation into the private healthcare sector is stimulating a new era of price transparency, increased price competition and greater availability of data for patients to compare what’s on offer from the private healthcare providers. This can only be good news for patients.”


www.privatehealth.co.uk/selfpay


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