Rise in patients opting for private healthcare across UK
The Nuffield Trust has revealed that, since the pandemic, there has been a 30% increase in the number of people paying out of their own pocket for hospital care
Independent think tank the Nuffield Trust has found that, since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a 30% increase in the number of people paying out of their own pocket for hospital care across England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
Calculations by the Trust based on Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) data for admissions and day cases show that, between September 2019 and 2023, the number of patients paying out of their own pocket more than doubled in Wales (up 124% from 1,865 to 4,100) and almost doubled in Scotland (up 80% from 2,835 to 5,165). In England, which continues to have the highest number of privately funded care admissions relative to its population, there was a rise of 20% from 45,000 to 54,000.
Across the four UK nations, the number of admissions and day cases covered by private healthcare insurance has also grown since the pandemic (up 5%), although this growth is more recent (towards the end of 2023). Proportionally, Northern Ireland again sees the biggest increase in hospital care covered by private healthcare plans (a rise of 250% during the same period).
Overall, the sharp increase shown in the data suggests Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland are getting closer to the levels of private healthcare more commonly seen in England.
Despite record levels of staffing and greater levels of funding within the National Health Service, NHS trusts in England provided fewer hospital admissions in 2022/23 than before the pandemic, illustrating a productivity challenge within the health service, according to the Nuffield Trust.
Since the pandemic there has been substantial growth in spending by NHS trusts in England on private care. Spending nearly doubled (an 88% increase) between 2019/20 and 2022/23.
Furthermore, the proportion of patients in private hospitals in England rose from 5.6% before the pandemic to 7.5% in 2022/23.
Mark Dayan, the Nuffield Trust’s Policy Analyst and Head of Public Affairs pointed out: “The private sector offers people more treatment at a time when many are in need and the health service is struggling to respond. But this shift raises difficult questions. The NHS could come to be reliant on private capacity without increasing what it can deliver. That capacity won’t always be in the right places, and at times there will be bidding against the health service. As more people shuttle from private care to NHS care and back, there is a risk that they will jump the queue or fall through the cracks of disjointed information systems.
“The fact that more people are paying out of pocket at a time when the economy is tight and difficult, not a time of plenty, suggests they are turning to the private sector out of desperation as NHS provision flatlines. That means that the balance of care is very slowly shifting from care based on need, to care based on willingness and ability to pay,” he added.
Last year, Jane Collingwood looked at available solutions for repatriated clients returning to the UK after becoming unwell overseas.