898,000 go private to skip NHS wait
A RECORD number of patients turned to private hospitals last year as NHS waiting lists hit an all-time high, figures show.
Campaigners warn that the trend reflects the ‘sorry state’ of the health service, with people forced to raid savings to pay for care after enduring months of pain.
There were 898,000 admissions to private hospitals in 2023, up 7 per cent on the previous record set just a year earlier.
Admissions paid for out of patients’ own pockets, rather than through insurance, also climbed to their highest level last year.
There were 278,000 so-called ‘self-pay’ admissions to private hospitals last year, up from 275,000 in 2022 and 200,000 in 2019 before the pandemic. More are choosing to go private ‘rather than risk prolonged waits and potentially seeing their health deteriorate’, said the official body which collates the data.
The Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) added that admissions funded by private medical insurance also hit a high of 621,000, above pre-pandemic levels for the first time. These insured admissions were 7 per cent higher in 2023 than in 2019.
Dennis Reed, director of over-60s campaign group Silver Voices, said: ‘These figures reflect the sorry state of the health service. Our surveys show people are turning private out of desperation, with some using the last of their savings after long waits, often in pain.
‘There will always be a market for private healthcare but it should be a choice. Some feel they are effectively being forced into it.’
Almost 6.3million people in England were waiting for treatment at the end of March, according to latest figures.
Some were waiting for more than one treatment, which makes the overall waiting list 7.5million, down from a peak of 7.8million last September.
PHIN collects data from the more than 600 private hospitals and also from more than 10,000 consultants.