Spire Healthcare to pay £1.2m fine for ophthalmology price fixing

Private hospital operator Spire Healthcare has been fined £1.2m by the Competition and Markets Authority after admitting that it had facilitated an illegal arrangement with consultant ophthalmologists at one of its hospitals who fixed fees for private consultations.

The competition watchdog said Spire has admitted that seven consultants at the Spire Regency Hospital agreed to fix fees for initial private consultations for self-pay patients at £200.

The arrangement between Spire and the consultants - which went on for nearly two years - was first initiated following a dinner organised by hospital management and attended by five of the seven ophthalmologists in question. After the dinner, a Spire employee at the hospital sent an email to all seven consultants suggesting the agreed price for initial consultations for self-pay patients be set at £200.

The ophthalmologists agreed and four of them upped their prices from £180, with the remaining three already charging £200. Spire then liaised with its customer service team to facilitate the arrangement, the CMA said.

Spire apologised for its conduct on Wednesday and said it had agreed to accept the CMA's findings in full and settle the case with a fine.

"It is important to note that this investigation related to conduct in 2017 regarding the charging of a small number of ophthalmology consultations at Spire Regency and did not in any way relate to the quality of patient care," Spire said.

"Spire Healthcare has a strong compliance culture and is disappointed with the failure to meet its standards in this isolated case. The group remains committed to its learning culture and has further strengthened its compliance programme in response to this incident. Spire Healthcare is also investing in a new pricing system which will provide further controls to ensure compliance."

Michael Grenfell, executive director of enforcement at the CMA, said it was unacceptable that patients were unable to shop around and get the best deal because Spire and the consultants illegally set a minimum consultation fee.

"It is particularly disappointing that the CMA has had to take action in the private ophthalmology sector again, following a previous finding of anti-competitive practices in the sector in 2015," he added.