More patients are buying private hospital care amid record NHS waiting lists

The number of patients in the UK dipping into their savings to buy private hospital care has grown considerably since the covid-19 pandemic, in the face of record NHS waiting lists, figures show.1

Before the pandemic, every quarter around 50 000 patients without private health insurance opted to self-fund private hospital care, but the number doing so has increased by more than a third since the pandemic, show the figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network, which publishes performance data on private hospitals. The network collects data from 600 hospitals that offer private healthcare services, including NHS hospitals.

Around 67 000 patients self-funded private hospital care in the second quarter of 2022, the latest period for which figures are available.

Demand was highest for joint replacements. Numbers of self-funded hip and knee replacements increased by 184% and 153%, respectively, between the second quarters of 2019 and 2022. Self-funded inguinal hernia repairs rose by 123% over the same period.

Although the Private Healthcare Information Network’s figures cover only self-funded inpatient care up to the second quarter of 2022, private providers have reported that trends are similar for self-funded outpatient appointments and investigations.

A survey by the Office for National Statistics on the …