The seeping costs of the NHS

Hospital patients are feeling the pinch of the global economic crisis, with a survey from HSF health plan finding 43% of UK residents believe the costs of hospital stays, such as parking and food, should be covered by taxes rather than the individual.

Bills incurred during hospital stays - including travel, parking, food and private rooms - frequently run in to the hundreds of pounds, leaving NHS patients out of pocket.

The squeeze is especially felt by contract workers who, unlike salary earners, do not receive sick pay during hospital stays and frequently struggle to cover bills.

With close to 15 million people admitted to hospital each year in England alone, people are being encouraged to think ahead and invest in a health cash plan that will give cash back on hospital costs and even enable patients to afford the privacy of their own room.

Stephen Duff of HSF health plan says: “A private maternity room in an NHS hospital can cost £250 a night – more than a luxury hotel. Undergoing stressful experiences in private, like labour or recovering from surgery, is an expense many people simply can’t afford without a health cash plan.”

HSF health plan schemes start from as little as £6 per month. As well as covering extra hospital costs they also cover that of your partner and any children under 18, at no extra cost.

Hospital patients can receive cash back for specialist consultation fees, pathology tests, x-rays, hospital admission, giving birth, hospital stays, post-hospital recuperation and home help and more, often adding up to a significant amount of money.

As well as providing cash back on extra hospital costs, HSF health plan schemes cover up to 100% of costs incurred at the dentist and optician (depending on the scheme you join), with added provisions for practitioner treatment such as physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy and chiropody, amongst other services - all aspects of your day-to-day healthcare are looked after.

HSF health plan also provides contributors with free access to a variety of important help lines (depending on level of cover), from the stress counseling advice line and legal helpline to a 24-hour GP advice line – a helpful way to access professional GP advice without the inconvenience of waiting for an appointment.

HSF health plan is the trading subsidiary of The Hospital Saturday Fund, a registered charity. In this way HSF health plan is able to donate more surplus monies, via Gift Aid, to the charitable arm resulting in more charitable donations across the UK and Ireland.

The health cash plan was established in 1873, before the NHS existed, to help people budget for their healthcare needs. HSF health plan provides a special combined optical and dental option, providing contributors with an annual pot of money that can be used flexibly, dependant on their needs, on either optical or dental care, privately or paying costs the NHS doesn't cover.

For more information, visit hsf.co.uk