Private Health Insurance – Maintaining Dignity

When you're at your worst physically, the last thing you want is to be treated without respect or dignity. And yet, NHS nurses spoke out about their concerns about their distress about not being able to treat patients with dignity for a poll by the Royal College of Nursing. More patients concerned about privacy and dignity are opting for private health insurance to make sure they receive the very best care. Patients' groups and surveys suggest that the standards of quality care is failing many NHS patients, leaving more people with an added incentive to opt for private health insurance.

Private Health Insurance: A Private Affair

The image of the NHS has frequently been damaged by stories in the press. But the poll by the Royal College of Nursing that revealed eight out of ten nurses felt distressed by the levels of care they could offer is stark. Private health insurance appeals to people who don't want to have to deal with mixed-sex wards, a lack of privacy, or communal, and sometimes dirty toilet facilities.

Private Health Insurance: Demand for Dignity

Although the government insists issues of dignity and high quality care are a priority, many patients are turning to private health insurance as experiences on NHS wards often highlight a lack of privacy and care as services are over stretched. Private health insurance guarantees a superior service, sidestepping waiting lists and offering private facilities. Most private hospitals that private health insurance companies use guarantee single-occupancy rooms and privacy. As non-emergency patients are not guaranteed single sex accommodation on NHS wards, this can cause distress and embarrassment for some patients at a time when they're feeling at their most vulnerable.

Patients Voting with their Feet

The survey also revealed the NHS often lacked specialist lifting equipment, with insufficient washing facilities, staff shortages and ill-fitting curtains. Patients who simply find such conditions too unpleasant to deal with are turning to private health insurance. In the poll, 81% of the nurses questioned said they felt distressed after work for not being able to provide their patients the dignity they deserved. Issues of dignity are an increasing priority for many, witnessed by the number of people turning to private health insurance. And the government has responded by saying dignity will be at the top of priority list for the NHS. But many people are voting with their feet and opting for private health insurance instead.

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