More use of private sector could cut NHS waiting lists

Thousands of patients on long NHS waiting lists could be treated quickly in private hospitals if the two sectors collaborated instead of viewing each other with suspicion and barely suppressed hostility, according to a report from the free market Adam Smith Institute.

The report, by Nick Bosanquet, of Imperial College, London, said: “At present, there is underoccupation in private hospitals, with occupancy rates at 50% or less. The …