12 2GM Friday August 7 2020 | the times
News
The NHS has pulled out of a deal allow-
ing it to take over private hospitals, rais-
ing fears about efforts to clear a huge
backlog of patient care.
Paying patients are expected to bene-
fit as the health service releases a quar-
ter of private hospital capacity from the
deal next month, saying that it is too
expensive to treat patients in Harley
Street clinics even at cost price.
Fourteen hospitals in London and
eight in cities from Exeter to Leeds are
being released from the deal immedi-
ately. NHS England plans to end the
arrangement in the rest of the country
over the autumn, saying that it does not
want to pay billions for private wards
that have gone unused through the
height of the pandemic.
Others in the health service have
questioned why the capacity cannot be
used to reschedule treatment that was
cancelled as hospitals cleared space for
coronavirus patients.
The NHS waiting list for routine pro-
cedures could reach ten million this
year as hospitals struggle to resume
non-urgent care while maintaining
social distancing. There are also fears
that thousands of cancer cases have
been missed as checks were put off.
At the start of the pandemic in
March, NHS England struck a deal to
take over 92 per cent of the country’s
private hospital capacity at cost price,
for as long as the health service needed
it. The beds have been used as “clean
sites” for non-Covid treatment. There
had been plans to use them to speed up
disrupted cancer treatment. The costs
have not been disclosed but are likely to
be several billion pounds.
Two weeks ago Boris Johnson com-
mitted an extra £3 billion for winter
preparations, saying that it would “al-
low the NHS to continue to use the
extra hospital capacity acquired from
the independent sector” until March.
In ending the deal NHS England
plans to give hospitals a share of fund-
ing to make their own arrangements. It
plans to negotiate a new deal with the
private sector in the hope that no longer
paying for unused capacity will offset
more expensive charges for treatment.
The private sector has given warning
that prices will rise, however, with an
industry source saying: “It’s hard to see
how you can get a better deal than cost.”
With significant pent-up demand for
private treatment, London hospitals
are pleasantly surprised at being re-
leased from the deal. David Hare, chief
executive of the Independent Health-
care Provider Network, said: “The pri-The national picture
*Counting of cases has changed to remove duplication. Numbers
now include those tested in all settings. Source: Gov.UKCases Deaths
Total UK* 308,134 46,
265,
18,
17,
6,41,
2,
1,
556England
Scotland
Wales
N IrelandDaily new lab-confirmed UK casesDaily new UK deaths7448Jul 31Jul 31Aug 1Aug 1120
7428802938933670894489265559504966NHS backlog fear
grows as deal for
private care ends
Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor vate hospital sector stands ready to
continue to play its part in ensuring as
many NHS patients as possible can ac-
cess care whilst also treating large
numbers of private patients.”
Emma Greenwood, director of policy
at Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s vital
that the NHS continues to work with
the private sector to ensure that there is
enough capacity to sort the mounting
backlog of patients needing screening,
diagnosis and treatment.”
NHS hospital chiefs accept that
capacity is going to waste under the
present deal but they fear that new
terms will be less generous and force
them to cut the amount of treatment
they can offer.
An NHS spokesman said: “Thanks to
this extended agreement, tens of thou-
sands more people will be able to bene-
fit from quicker access to surgery and
other treatments, tests and checks.
“As we move into the next phase of
the response to coronavirus, the NHS
will also be negotiating a new deal
available to all independent-sector
providers based more closely on
activity to ensure taxpayers get full
value from the expenditure.”
Yesterday doctors and surgeons’
leaders urged the NHS not to shut
down normal care again in the event of
a second wave, saying that it would
inflict pain, misery and the risk of death
on tens of thousands of patients.
Professor Neil Mortensen, president
of the Royal College of Surgeons of
England, told The Guardian that non-
coronavirus patients should not be left
“stranded” again.
Chaan Nagpaul, chairman of the
British Medical Association’s council,
added: “We cannot have a situation in
which patients are unable to access
tests, clinic appointments and treat-
ment which they urgently need.”
If music is good for the soul, then doc-
tors hope that it can also help people
suffering from the effects of Covid-19.
A hospital trust has teamed up with
the English National Opera (ENO) to
prescribe a six-week programme of
“singing, breathing and wellbeing”.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS
Trust will include singing lullabies in an
online scheme that it hopes will allevi-
ate the long-term breathlessness expe-
rienced by some sufferers. The trust
already uses singing as part of care
aimed at people with chronic obstruc-
tive pulmonary disease and chronic
respiratory issues.
Patients will learn techniques to help
them focus constructively on their
breathing, using music designed to
calm. It is hoped this will help retrain
abnormal breathing habits that may
have been caused by the virus, as well as
calm anxiety caused by breathlessness.
If judged a success the scheme will be
rolled out nationally.
Sarah Elkin, from the NHS Trust,
told Radio 4’s Toda y programme: “The
causes for breathlessness following
Covid infection are wide-ranging —
they can be linked to anxiety and to
recovering inflammation in the lungs,
which can cause an abnormal breath-
ing pattern.
“We would use abdominal breathing
to help retrain any abnormal breathing
that might have developed through the
process.” Dr Elkin added: “People that
have anxiety can start breathing fromRoad traffic has exceeded pre-lock-
down levels for the first time, prompting
fears that air pollution could become
worse than normal as more people
choose driving over public transport.
The number of vehicles used on Sun-
day was 3 per cent higher than on a Sun-
day in early February, with cars at the
same level and vans 14 per cent higher,
Department for Transport data shows.
Weekday traffic levels are still
slightly lower than before lockdown,
reaching 93 per cent a week ago, but
there is a clear rising trend.
Early in the lockdown road traffic fell
to as low as 23 per cent of normal levels.
There was a sharp fall in air pollution,
particularly nitrogen dioxide, which is
largely produced by diesel engines.
The number of passengers on trains
and the London Underground is about
a quarter of pre-lockdown levels. Buses
are carrying half the normal number in
London and just over a third outside the
capital. Cycling is almost double theIncrease in car use causes
concern about air pollution
normal level at weekends and about
50 per cent higher on some weekdays.
Jonathan Grigg, professor of envi-
ronmental medicine at Queen Mary
University of London, warned: “People
who have taken up cycling during the
lockdown are going to be exposed to
pre-lockdown levels of traffic-related
air pollution.”
Asthma UK and the British Lung
Foundation, which merged in January,
warned that road traffic could rise
again next month when schools return
and more people go back to workplaces.
The charity said that uncertainty
over the safety of public transport
would lead to people choosing to drive.
It is urging the government to use the
forthcoming Environment Bill to set a
strong legal target for fine particles, the
most dangerous form of air pollution.
The charity is also calling for the early
introduction of clean air zones, which
charge entry fees for the most polluting
vehicles.
Those requests are key objectives of
The Times Clean Air for All campaign.Ben Webster Environment EditorNews Coronavirus
Boris Johnson at a
gym yesterday in
his Uxbridge
constituency. He
said people should
have the confidence
to return to workOpera helps the sick get back on song
the top of their lungs, rather than
breathing deeply, so singing can train
you to take a deeper breath and also
help to relax you. Diaphragmatic
breathing is very important to lead to a
full exchange of air.
“There is some evidence from other
lung conditions that this can help make
people feel better, help improve breath-
ing patterns, and lead to less healthcare
utilisation in the long term.”
Jenny Mollica, the director of ENO
Baylis, the opera’s learning and
participation programme, told Toda y:
“Lullabies play a very prevalent role in
opera and by their nature are very uni-
versal and very soothing and calming.
“They have a strong narrative around
them. We think that connection to
narrative and emotion helps the patient
to focus more on the emotional
connection than the physical exercise
itself. It’s change by stealth.”
Caroline Dinenage, the culture min-
ister, said: “We have seen throughout
the coronavirus outbreak the import-
ance of the arts for our mental wellbe-
ing and this initiative shows that they
can also provide powerful benefits for
our physical health.”Ben Ellery
English National Opera is collaborating
with the NHS on a six-week programme