The NHS was once the envy of the world. No longer. Health Secretary Wes Streeting openly admits it is in crisis, with more than six million people on waiting lists and chaos predicted if hospital doctors walk out this week.

However, plans are afoot to deliver change, with more choice for patients, better use of technology and investment in tip-top GP surgeries to offer everything from biopsies to help with depression.

As the Government works on the small print, canny firms are already stepping in to offer solutions – and creating opportunities for investors to reap long-term rewards. Here are three that are giving the NHS a boost – and could do the same for your portfolio.

One Health Group

One Health Group was founded in 2004 by Derek Bickerstaff, an orthopaedic consultant who reckoned there must be a way to tackle waiting lists while continuing to provide patients with the free service offered by the NHS.

His hunch was correct, and today One Health treats more than 17,000 people a year, providing consultations, operations and post-operative care for conditions ranging from dodgy hips to hernias.

The company operates 40 community clinics across the Midlands and the North, and works with 130 NHS surgeons and anaesthetists. Patients wait two to four weeks for an initial consultation and undergo surgery, if needed, a few weeks later.

Opportunity: Patients can choose where to get treatment

Satisfaction levels are extremely high, and One Health is registered as a qualified alternative provider of care so the treatment is entirely free, just like the NHS.

Bickerstaff’s strategy is simple. He rents space in GP surgeries for his community clinics and space from private hospitals with spare capacity for operations.

Agreements are also set up with surgeons and anaesthetists outside of their NHS obligations. Contracts are long-term and benefits are wide-ranging. GPs, hospitals and doctors receive extra income, patients are seen faster and NHS trusts can breathe easier.

The business steers clear of affluent areas, where independent hospitals and NHS doctors can earn huge sums. Instead, it focuses on poorer parts of the country.

Processes are smoother and more efficient because One Health does not deal with emergencies, is not involved in cancer or other complex conditions and has spent years developing its technology to the benefit of patients, doctors and suppliers.

One Health joined the AQSE growth market in 2022 and moved up to Aim in March, raising cash along the way to fund its first surgical hub – a standalone site in Scunthorpe with an operating theatre and 12 beds.

This should give a significant uplift to One Health profits.

Today, the group gives about 70 per cent of gross revenues to hospitals in return for their space, facilities and nursing staff. The surgical hub will generate far higher profits at no cost to patients, and discussions are already under way for a second hub.

NHS patients have a statutory right to choose their treatment provider, and increasing numbers are choosing One Health, which saw a 28 per cent increase in patients last year, generating a

23 per cent rise in revenues to £28.4 million with profits of £1.9 million and a dividend of 6.2p.

One Health shares have had a strong run since joining Aim, and are now trading at £2.88.

But brokers are optimistic about the business, suggesting shares could hit £3 or more over the next year or two.

Buy and hold.

Traded on: Aim Ticker: OHGR Contact: onehealth.co.uk

Optima Health

The UK loses about £220 billion every year because people are taking days off sick or believe that they are too ill to work at all.

Poor health is an epidemic, and the consequences spread far and wide. Hospitals are overstretched, depression is rife and economic growth is anaemic.

Optima Health is the largest occupational health business in the country, working with some 2,000 employers, from NHS trusts, the police and HM Prisons to

Bentley Motors, Ikea, investment banks and train operators.

These organisations collectively employ five million people, almost 15 per cent of the nation’s workforce, and Optima’s job is to ensure they are fit and healthy so they can be fully productive.

Police undergo fitness tests to check they are physically and mentally capable for the job.

Factory workers are routinely assessed if they operate in noisy conditions or use vibrating tools.

Even lollipop men and women have regular ear and eye tests to ensure they are capable of helping children cross the road.

Under chief executive Jonathan Thomas, Optima also works with staff who are either on sick leave or think they may need to take time off.

Aches and pains, such as back ache or dodgy knees, and mental health issues, such as stress or depression, are the biggest source of ill health. Optima employs more than 800 clinicians, including doctors, physiotherapists and mental health advisers, who identify ailments and help employees feel better and return to work.

Thomas is expanding into new fields too, winning a seven-year, £210 million contract from the Armed Forces to conduct medical assessments on potential recruits for the Navy, the Army and the Air Force. Applicants will undergo rigorous checks to ensure they are physically and mentally fit to defend their country – from testing whether they can crawl through small spaces to seeing how they respond in high-stress situations.

Optima has also spent ten years perfecting an online triage tool for bodily aches and pains, taking users through an eight-minute questionnaire to diagnose the next stage of treatment.

Already in use by businesses across the country, the tool has now been taken up by the Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust, which runs hospitals and clinics across the North West.

Discussions are under way with other NHS Trusts and further contracts are expected, as the tool can be used night and day, delivers more accurate results than face-to-face triage and cuts waiting lists dramatically, while ensuring people secure the right treatment.

Results for the year to March included profits of £2.6 million. They are expected to more than double this year.

Occupational health is a fragmented industry with thousands of small players. This presents plenty of opportunities for Optima.

The workforce is changing too, growing older, larger and less healthy, which should bode well for Optima, making the shares a long-term buy at £1.94.

Traded on: Aim Ticker: OPT Contact: optimahealth.co.uk

Assura/PHP

Crunch time is approaching for shareholders in GP-surgeries-to- private-hospital owner Assura.

The company has been at the centre of a bidding war between UK-listed healthcare specialist PHP and US private equity giant, KKR, bidding through a company called Sana Bidco. Assura’s board has recommended the PHP offer. Now shareholders must decide whether to follow their advice. They should, as the PHP deal is likely to deliver far greater long-term benefits.

PHP owns about 500 healthcare centres offering everyday GP appointments as well as services from physiotherapy and weight management to biopsies and post-cancer care. A tie-up with Assura would create a group with more than 1,000 sites, easing the pressure on hospitals.

A trading update from PHP showed it is forging ahead – a larger group would almost certainly do even better. PHP has a 29-year record of dividend growth, too, and boss Mark Davies has said the merged business should bolster shareholder payouts. Assura investors should back this offer.

Traded on: Main market Ticker: PHP Contact: php.co.uk

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