Last 19-20 September, our French member, Fédération de l’Hospitalisation Privée (FHP), held its annual congress, “Rencontres FHP”, in Nancy (France).
Under this year’s theme “Builiding links”, the congress brought together elected officials, health stakeholders, experts, patients, professionals and provided a platform for debating the major health issues France is facing and how to overcome them by sharing knowledge and finding common solutions.
The rencontres FHP is the major annual meeting of women and men who, in 1030 private hospitals and clinics, take care of and treat 9 million patients throughout France each year.
FHP hosted a session on healthcare in Europe and the role of private hospitals with the full support of European Union of Private Hospitals (UEHP).
We had the chance to hear from Mr Oscar Gaspar, President of APHP – Associação Portuguesa de Hospitalização Privada – and from Mr Thomas Bublitz, DG of Bundesverband Deutscher Privatkliniken e.V. (BDPK) about the organisation and provision of healthcare respectively in Portugal and Germany and the challenges the hospital sector is facing, in a discussion moderated by our President, Dr Paul Garassus.
Quoting Mr Bublitz: “It is clear that without private hospitals the healthcare systems would collapse!”
