The UK’s healthcare infrastructure is one of the most advanced systems in the world and one of the most troubled. The NHS is the crowning achievement of modern society, providing free health care to tens of millions of people in the UK, but poor management and lack of funding have left it in a dangerous situation.
At the same time, private healthcare solutions are gaining popularity among UK citizens with money to spare and no time to waste. These factors combine to make the UK healthcare industry a fertile ground for new start-ups. Tech entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to update core systems in hospitals and nursing facilities, management companies saw an opportunity to provide valuable consulting, and medically trained professionals saw an opportunity to create viable independent practices.
a unique opportunity
Simply put, this unique healthcare industry landscape is a lucrative one for anyone currently looking to carve out a niche for themselves. With waiting lists still high and GP appointments still scarce, solutions from both sides of the reception desk are more popular than ever.
However, meeting healthcare needs is not as simple as merging businesses or facilities. There are many obstacles to building your own healthcare business, and these obstacles are of different types and will have different impacts on your growth. What are these challenges?
Regulations and Licensing
The main challenge facing new healthcare businesses is regulatory in nature. Naturally, there is a huge amount of legislative red tape between businesses and operating in the health or social care sector, not to mention the licensing and qualifications that practitioners and managers need to obtain in order to have any form of business viability. Specific regulations vary widely across different business models, making it particularly important to seek industry-specific advice.
As a research facility developing drugs or other treatments, there are many regulatory hurdles to overcome before entering the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) doors; as an inpatient care facility, there are core standards set out by law that must be met. If you don’t understand the specific requirements your business needs to meet, you may not be ready to trade in the UK healthcare industry.
Financial and funding challenges
Regulatory challenges are notoriously difficult to understand, let alone deal with – but as long as the right approach is taken to ensure compliance, they shouldn’t be the most difficult part of integrating new business in the healthcare industry. In fact, the most difficult potential challenge is one that is prevalent across industries: funding.
Finding the necessary capital to support infrastructure development can be difficult, but it’s not entirely different from the process of merging any business. You can seek loans from banks and other lending institutions on a secured or unsecured basis, allowing you to invest in appropriate resources and equipment; the challenge is to guarantee the profit required to repay the loan.
