Benenden sees the mutual model as way ahead

Benenden Healthcare Society, based in York, was founded 105 years ago to provide treatment for postal workers who were suffering from tuberculosis.

Now the mutual is gearing up for expansion, and chief executive Ken Hesketh believes this could lead to more jobs in Yorkshire.

Mr Hesketh also argues that mutuals could have a larger role to play in providing healthcare as the public finances come under strain.

He told the Yorkshire Post: "If we as a nation want to create a health and social care system which provides high quality right across the board in healthcare and across all the conditions...we have to recognise that trying to fund that entirely from taxation is going to be an increasingly difficult task.

"We're going to see that over the next few years and if nothing changes it will get worse. For some people alternative forms of funding to supplement their healthcare will become increasingly attractive. The mutual model provides the next best alternative to tax-funded healthcare."

Benenden, which has 140 staff in York, is a mutual not for profit friendly society run for its members. It can offer many of the benefits of private healthcare for just 1.50 per person per week

Mr Hesketh said: "We see Benenden playing a much bigger role in healthcare in Yorkshire and across the country. We have traditionally been an organisation that tries to repair people when things go wrong, but we want to expand into a much wider area of healthcare which is more about prevention than cure.

"We are dealing with a population that is much more informed about their healthcare. They are much more aware of the risks of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity and substance abuse.

"Access to some of the services which help people with those kinds of problems is not that easy and often has stigma attached to it as well. We think, within the healthcare model within which we operate, we can expand into those areas.

"The mutual model is an alternative mechanism. It's low cost, which will allow people to get a form of cover which could help them to tackle some of those problems where the NHS patently is struggling."

Benenden's membership is more than 940,000 and, in the year ended December 31 2008, total income from member contributions was 61.37m.

"One of our strategic objectives is to double our turnover in five years,'' said Mr Hesketh.

"We've got a lot to do to get there. If the political arena around health does change, then a much greater share of the overall healthcare requirement for the UK could be taken by mutuals.

"The politicians are quite naturally pre-occupied with the NHS. We understand that. That is the big issue in healthcare. The politicians want to get their position right on the NHS.

"Will the mutual model play a bigger role in healthcare longer term? We believe it could. It won't be too long before politicians will show more interest in wanting to talk about mutuality and healthcare."

Membership of Benenden is open to all public sector workers and their families, as well as staff from organisations "whose aims and objectives are compatible with the society".

Asked whether the growth plans would lead to more jobs in Yorkshire, Mr Hesketh said: "If what I said about doubling turnover starts to come true, it's inevitable isn't it? To service that growth we will need more people."

He said Benenden was talking to its members about the possibility of extending the "membership gateway", in other words, making more people eligible to join.

He added: "We want to make sure that we appeal to people who appreciate the mutual model and do not see it simply as a way of satisfying their own requirements."

In frontline of TB fight

Benenden Healthcare Society was formed in 1905 to help Post Office workers. At that time tuberculosis (TB) was common, especially among sorting clerks.

Initially, it was known as the National Association for the Establishment and Maintenance of Sanatoria for Workers Suffering from Tuberculosis Friendly Society.

In the early 1920s, the philanthropist Charles Garland had the idea of creating a mutual self-help organisation. Each member contributed a small weekly amount to a fund.

The cash was used to help colleagues or themselves if they suffered from TB. In 1923 Mr Garland called it The Post Office Sanatorium Soc-iety. In 1997 it became The Benenden Healthcare Society.