NHS waiting lists are continually in the news, with many thousands of people having to wait considerable amounts of time for the treatment or operations that they require.  In fact, it is said around 400,000 people are waiting over a year to receive their medical treatment.[i]

The NHS is also said to be at breaking point, struggling to cope with backlogs and overcome the pressures that have been placed on the medical workforce in recent years.

So what can you do, to help yourself, your employees and the NHS?  The answer could be purchasing private medical insurance.  Rather than working against the NHS, as you may have once considered, private medical care is actually one means of alleviating pressure on the health service.  By accessing private medical services, you can access consultations quicker, be treated faster and free up the NHS a little more, to deal with other patients.

Private medical insurance for individuals and companies

Private medical insurance can be purchased by individuals, wishing to take greater control over their own healthcare and that of their family, but also by employers.  Either way, Gauntlet Group’s local brokers can help you find the policy that suits your situation.  Just remember that existing health situations most probably won’t be covered, so you can’t take out a policy to try to jump a surgical queue for an issue that already exists.  That’s why you should take out this insurance before an ill health diagnosis occurs, so it can step in from that point.

Whilst an individual can secure greater peace of mind by purchasing private medical insurance, an employer can gain other benefits.

Private medical insurance schemes for companies

By setting up a group private medical insurance scheme for employees, they can ensure that any staff, who suffer a physical or mental illness, can be provided with the medical consultation and attention they need, in the fastest possible timeframe.  Rather than having to take extensive periods off work, in pain or ill health, an employee can potentially be back up and running, in full health, much faster.  Productivity and morale can both be improved, simply by addressing a health issue quickly.

Research shows that happier and healthier employees contribute more to businesses.  There is also evidence to suggest, particularly in current times, that employees are proactively electing to apply for positions with employers who can offer them more, whether that is in terms of flexible working, or through benefits such as private medical insurance.

Private medical insurance as a recruitment, retention and continuity strategy

Offering private medical insurance as an employment ‘perk’, can help you stand out as an employer, making your recruitment strategies more effective.  Most importantly, offering private medical insurance can assist you with that all-important mission of retaining staff, avoiding the considerable costs that accompany recruitment and employee churn.

You don’t need hundreds of employees on the payroll to be able to set up a corporate private medical insurance scheme.  Numbers can be as low as one member of staff and that could be you.  There is an advantage to making sure that you have this sort of protection, particularly if you are a key person within a small or micro SME.  The time that you are out of the business is probably crucial to its success or failure.  Having private medical care can assist in the attempt to be absent as little as possible, addressing health issues swiftly and getting you back at the helm.

Demonstrating Duty of Care through private medical insurance

With its positive impacts on absenteeism and sickness rates, private medical insurance can help address some of the major issues that you face, as an employer.  It can, however, also help you show the Duty of Care that the law expects of you as an employer, demonstrating that your people matter to you and you do all you can to protect their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Workplace mental health and the impacts of the menopause can both be difficult to address in the right way and you may struggle to do so yourself, not feeling qualified to have the conversations required or suggest the right strategies that can help an employee cope.  If you have access to the services provided by your private medical insurance policy, you can let your employees have access to experts, who can offer professional assessments and programmes.

Proactive lifestyle care and hospital/consultant choice

Meanwhile, the preventative side to private medical insurance provides your staff with benefits that can help keep them fitter and healthier, such as gym discounts and tips for healthy eating and exercise.  Access to 24/7 helplines is another key benefit and then there is the vital counselling that employees may need around certain life events.

With the option to choose from a range of hospitals and facilities local to them, there is no need to see your employees having to travel miles and miles to medical appointments, or hanging around for hours in waiting rooms packed with other patients.

Take the step that will put better health at the heart of your workplace today, by calling us on 0113 244 8686, or selecting one of our local brokers from the list and map provided.  We can offer you first-class private medical insurance options, whether you are an individual or a business and help you take the steps that offer more medical peace of mind, both at home and at work.

[i] https://www.axahealth.co.uk/intro-to-pmi-nov-22/ (webinar slide 4 from ‘An Introduction to Private Healthcare Cover’, 15 November 2022.