Industry Health and Social Care

Major
Businesses
NHS

Social Care

Private hospitals and health care providers.

Agencies providing nurses and care staff.

Threat of New In this industry the threat is small because it is a very well established industry
Entrants where entry is difficult due to the large investment required as well as the
already existing competition and these are barriers to entry.

However, there is a large competition amongst agencies providing staff to the

sector despite recruitment difficulties.

Threat of Health care is free and social care funding is available depending on the
Substitutes individual's condition. The threat of substitutes are low as well due to the
affordability of any private services.

People also often trust the NHS more than other primary health care providers.

Buyer Power For the NHS it is difficult to determine buyer power as it largely depends on the
health and wellbeing of the population. However it is a non profitable
organisation, therefore the number of buyers are not relevant for the success of
the business.
Supplier In terms of suppliers, the competition is huge as gaining an NHS contract is
Power significant. Companies will watch out for tenders and bid their lowest supplier
rates in order to win the tender.

Competitive This industry is more of a monopoly rather than a shared market as not
Rivalry everyone is able to afford private healthcare meaning they will be using NHS and
Social care services so there is not much rivalry.

How competitive is this industry?

This is not a very competitive industry. Both Health and Social care services have their own
struggles.

The NHS have been supported by smaller health providers where the government is paying an
additional cost for the services, due to the work power shortage within the NHS which combined
with the COVID 19 pandemic created a very long waiting list for referrals.

However this additional support is not in place within the social care sector and the current
available options are only the funded social care, which is only available at a basic rate and
placements are only available in certain homes operated by social services. There are a number of
private social care providers available, but their rates are significantly higher and funding is often
not available.