A row between two hospital giants that could have resulted in less choice for private health patients in Maidstone is over.

The KM was informed this week that both Bupa and the BMI hospital group had reached a new servicing agreement – ensuring the Somerfield Hospital will remain on Bupa’s list.

Late last year the insurance provider was threatening to drop BMI hospitals off from their listings because it then claimed the group was “over 20% more expensive than competitors” – something fiercely denied by BMI.

If Somerfield had been dropped by Bupa it would have meant the nearest private hospital choice for its members in Maidstone would have been in the private wing of the NHS-run Maidstone Hospital.

Dr Natalie-Jane Macdonald, managing director of Bupa Health and Wellbeing, said she regretted any inconvenience members and consultants had experienced in recent weeks.

"We believe the new arrangements provide a good basis to address the affordability of private health care while maintaining current standards of high quality care for Bupa members.”

Managing director of hospital operations at BMI John Von Klemperer said both sides had worked hard to reach agreement.