Mr Jaureguizar said the Netflix-style GP service, which launched in August, would help modernise Bupa’s offering at a time of surging demand. Like the NHS, the company must find its own ways to deal with this wave without simply throwing money at the problem.
Increased use of technology is vital as the UK’s ageing population increases pressure on healthcare systems, the Bupa chief said.
“As private players, we need to make sure we can deliver more outcomes with less resources. We don’t need to invest in more hospitals and nurses, but we need new technology to make the system more efficient.”
The need to do more with less comes amid a growing number of mental health complaints, which Mr Jaureguizar said is one of Bupa’s top two most treated conditions along with musculoskeletal disorders.
Increased mental health disorders contributed to the country’s growing worklessness crisis, with 2.8m people now not working because of long-term health problems. This is one of many challenges piling up for the NHS, which Sir Keir Starmer said last month must “reform or die”.
One way to relieve some of these pressures on the NHS is for the Government to rely increasingly on private healthcare, Mr Jaureguizar said.
“I would like to have a strong NHS that’s able to deliver the service in a good way,” he said. “There’s a lot of people behind the NHS that are working very hard. People are not just sitting there playing Candy Crush.
“Saying that, I agree with the Labour Government that there’s room to be doing things much better.
“I don’t think there is a silver bullet where you basically put money on the table and solve it. I think it’s more about how you make the healthcare system more sustainable.”
