Part 3 of the Order requires a private hospital operator, such as The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, to not offer or provide referring clinicians with incentives that may encourage them to refer or treat a patient at that site. The Hospital failed to offer higher value services, including office rental space, medical secretarial services and consultant room hire, on non-discriminatory terms or at fair market value. This was a clear breach that meant patients could not make fully informed choices.



This requirement is in place to address one of the areas of concern identified in the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA’s) Market Investigation. The CMA found that private hospitals could incentivise consultants to refer patients to that hospital through benefits or discounted services. This means that clinicians and hospitals were not acting in a transparent way.



The Hospital voluntarily informed the CMA of the breach in February 2024. However, the Hospital remains in breach of the Order. Therefore, the CMA has requested they publish an action plan detailing how they will become compliant by 1 January 2025. The action plan is in an annex of the letter.

CMA Investigates Private Hospital for Breach of Healthcare Order

The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, a private hospital operator, breached Part 3 of the Private Healthcare Order by providing incentives to referring clinicians that could influence patient referrals, such as office rental space and medical secretarial services, not offered on fair market terms.

                        The breach was identified as part of the CMA's Market Investigation, which highlighted concerns about private hospitals incentivising consultants to refer patients through benefits or discounted services, leading to a lack of transparency in clinician-hospital relationships.

                        Despite voluntarily disclosing the breach to the CMA in February 2024, The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth remains non-compliant with the Order. The CMA has requested the hospital to publish an action plan outlining steps to achieve compliance by 1 January 2025, as detailed in an annex of the letter.



CMA Investigates Private Hospital for Breach of Healthcare Order

The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) investigates The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth for breaching regulations by offering incentives to referring clinicians, impacting patient choice.