General Healthcare Group
General Healthcare Group describes itself as 'the leading provider of independent health care services in the UK', with 67 hospitals and clinics, 9200 staff, and 7000 consultants. Its main businesses include BMI Healthcare (formerly AMI, a US hospital chain that arrived in the UK in 1970) and Netcare, South Africa's largest private hospital group.[1]
Healthcare reform in UK
GHG believes that the Government should "incentivise people to pay directly for healthcare themselves," and that it "should also remove the barriers to people topping up their NHS allowance if they wished to buy additional services or treatment." In a speech at the Reform Health Conference in July 2010, CEO Adrian Fawcett called for "greater self-responsibility in healthcare", saying "it is important that those that can afford to pay for themselves should be encouraged to if that makes financial sense to the Exchequer."[2]
A press release detailing GHG's 'Annual Results for the year ended 30 September 2010' – and headlined: Sustained growth, expanding footprint and on the cusp of a new era – outlines the 'Clear opportunity derived from NHS White Paper' as follows:
- Consultation paper indicates significant additional opportunities for private/NHS partnership
- Added pressure on NHS funding points to return of self pay and insured lives over time
- Increased customer choice based on quality and availability.[3]
Adrian Fawcett, CEO, commented: "We are entering a new, exciting era, driven by the forthcoming healthcare reform that will ultimately change, to our benefit, the landscape in which we operate.”
Lobbying
It is a member of the H5 lobby group.
It employs lobbying firm College Hill for extra 'public affairs' support.[4]
People
- Adrian Fawcett, Chief Executive of General Healthcare Group. Fawcett tweeted in September 2010 "I am looking forward to being in Birmingham for the Tory Conference next week and bumping into a few people."[5]
Contacts
Head Office
4 Thameside Centre
Kew Bridge Road
Brentford
Middlesex TW8 0HF
Url: www.generalhealthcare.co.uk
References
- ↑ GHG, About us, accessed October 2010
- ↑ GHG Healthcare leader calls for fair playing field to deliver Government’s healthcare plans, July 2010
- ↑ GHG Annual Results 2010, accessed December 2010
- ↑ APPC register, June to August 2010
- ↑ Adrian Fawcett, Twitter, accessed October 2010
