As the pressure on the NHS continues to mount we are seeing more and more delays, more operations cancelled and a never ending array of treatments denied to more and more people. Is it now time to take a serious look at the Private Healthcare market, or is the NHS still capable of doing the task?

While there is no doubt that the NHS is more than capable of looking after the UK population, the pressure and stress being exerted onto more and more staff is growing. Nurses are leaving because of low pay, doctors are complaining of being attacked on their rounds and there have even been a number of incidents which have proved fatal. While the nucleus of the NHS is still there, it seems in many ways that the surface is being eroded.

One of the largest growth markets in the UK over the last decade has been private healthcare with more individuals and companies now taking this on as standard. It is not only the delays in medical treatment on the NHS which has forced many down this road it is the growing cost of actually going private. While we would all much prefer to depend upon the NHS for our needs and save enough to cover one off private health as and when needed, in many cases this is just not possible.

Unless you are prepared to fly thousands of miles to a foreign land and depend upon a medical system which may not be as robust as the UK, then you are stuck. Basic, affordable private healthcare is now something which is being discussed by the UK population at all levels, not just the top end of the income bracket which seemed to have exclusive rights to private healthcare only a decade ago.

As demand amongst the masses has grown we have seen the introduction of a number of affordable policies to “get you on the ladder”. Increased competition amongst the providers has also seen a reduction of prices (substantial in many cases) to levels which will tempt those in who may not otherwise have been interested. However, will the ongoing economic situation make a difference?

In a strange way the worsening economic environment may actually push more people towards private healthcare because they will know that for only a few pounds a month they are covered, where as more and more people will not have available cash to pay for operations in the event of a one off accident, without cover.

In the past the government have implemented a number of tax saving schemes to encourage the take up of private healthcare, but now that it is firmly in the mind of the public many of these benefits have been removed. In fact now the authorities are more than happy to add extra tax onto the cost of premiums – so much for encouraging us to move to private healthcare.

There is no doubt that the NHS is on its knees and the god father of the UK Health Service, Nye Bevan, will be turning in his grave!