Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement of 10 January 2022 from NHS England on an agreement for private hospitals to support NHS capacity during the covid-19 outbreak, what the total financial value of that deal is; what estimate he has made of the number of patients that will be treated under the terms of that agreement; and what activities each private provider has been asked to undertake for the NHS.

The information requested is not yet available as the period of these arrangements concludes on 31 March 2022, when the activity total will be reviewed and costed.

NHS England has estimated a minimum cost of £75 to £90 million per month whilst the ‘surge arrangements’ within the contract remain inactivated. This is equivalent to the value of elective activity delivered through approximately the same providers in Quarter 4 2020/21. In the absence of surge activation, additional costs will be related to increased volumes of activity or changes to higher priority cases. If surge arrangements are activated, NHS England has estimated the maximum cost of the arrangements to be £175 million per month. However, this is based on surge arrangements being activated nationally which is considered to be unlikely. To date, there have been no such activations.

The number of patients treated and the activities provided will be determined by National Health Service systems and independent sector providers dependent on the needs for both COVID-19 and non-COVID conditions locally and the capacity available in the area. NHS England is working closely with regions and systems to ensure the arrangements are being used to deliver effectively for patients.