Use of private sector for NHS hip surgery has reduced NHS provision, study finds

Private provision of NHS funded hip surgery in Scotland has been associated with a decline in procedures provided by the NHS, a study has found.

The use of private sector providers may also have contributed to a rise in age related and socioeconomic treatment inequalities for patients needing hip surgery in Scotland, the research found.1

The study, by Queen Mary University of London and published in the Journal of Public Health, examined the effects of the 2003 Scottish policy to allow patients to choose to have their NHS funded treatment from a private provider or an NHS provider, to increase capacity and reduce waiting times.2

It found that, between 2006-07 and 2008-09—when private sector NHS activity peaked in Scotland—a rise in the number of procedures commissioned …