There has never been a better time to take out a private medical insurance policy. The number of state of the art private medical facilities is increasing all the time, and there have been two high profile cases just this month. Welsh private medical company, The Independent General Practice, Wales’ first private practice, will open a ‘super-surgery’ at the end of March in Cardiff Gate. The centre will offer a wide range of services including various vaccinations, occupational health procedures and physiotherapy as well as routine GP care for up to 5,000 patients at a time. On top of this, discussions are taking place to offer minor plastic surgery to complement the anti-ageing treatments that are already available like Botox and collagen fillers.

BUPA has recently bought the well known Cromwell Hospital in London for £90 million. It is all part of a project to create a centre of excellence for private patients as they plan to invest a further £30 million into the facility. It is already renowned for pioneering medical equipment and cancer services, with late footballer George Best being one of its previous patients.

Is it any wonder then that an increasing number of people are getting quotes for private health insurance with access to such high standards of medical care? Other major companies for example Virgin, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have all produced plans of ‘polyclinics’, which the local primary care trusts lack the money to fund. Virgin has a vision of a practice offering laser eye treatment, dental care, pharmacies, beauty facilities and alternative therapies amongst others. They have predicted that by 2050, private healthcare will take an equal proportion of the gross national product as the NHS.