Health-on-Line Calls For Transparency From The NHS

Mark Martin, Managing Director of Health-on-Line, the online private medical insurance company, today calls for increased transparency from the NHS following recent reports of over 100,000 operations cancelled by the NHS in the past year.

Whilst the Department of Health announced that just over 57,000 operations had been cancelled, these figures only cover cancellations made in the 24 hours before an operation.
The actual number nearly doubled when trusts were called upon to provide information for all cancelled operations. In thousands of cases patients suffered multiple cancellations.

Commenting on this news, Martin says "It comes as no surprise that the actual number of cancellations is higher than reported by the government. Whilst we understand and sympathise with the pressures on the NHS, we still believe that patients and the public have the right to demand transparency of information from the NHS and the government in the figures which demonstrate its standard of performance."

This latest revelation came to light after the Conservatives used the Freedom of Information laws to request the data from NHS trusts. Martin says "Any statistics made available from a government source need to be relied upon. Patients need to be able to make an informed choice without a smokescreen of statistics which aren't a true depiction of the reality."

The impact on the patients of cancelled operations can't be underestimated. Martin concludes "Often these procedures are of a major or complex nature and one cancellation, let alone multiple cancellations, only adds to the anxieties and stress experienced by the patient and their family. Private medical insurance can go some way towards alleviating these stresses by allowing the patient to choose when and where their procedure is undertaken."

Founded in 2000, Health-on-Line is an innovative Private Medical Insurance (PMI) company based in Bournemouth. With Health-on-Line, you can tailor your PMI to meet your specific needs by providing a range of options to select from. You can obtain quotes, tailor the policy and purchase your PMI through our online system available at health-on-line. Our policies are underwritten by AXA PPP healthcare and policy holders have access to over 200 quality assured hospitals throughout the UK.