NHS delays have created Britain’s newest boom industry: private healthcare
Private healthcare treatments have hit an all-time high as the NHS continues to struggle with runaway waiting lists.
Some 443,000 private treatments took place in the first half of the year, up seven per cent from 2022, according to new data by Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN).
It is a 13 per cent increase on the 391,000 admissions recorded in the first half of 2019 before the pandemic wreaked havoc with the state health provider’s limited resources.
A major reason for the surge is an increase in insured admissions to the hospital, which are usually funded by employers.
Insurers have noted a significant uptick in demand in recent months for private healthcare paid for by corporates for their employees, with it becoming a more significant benefit in a world of longer delays for the public health service.
In August, Aviva boss Amanda Blanc told reporters that “customers are worried that they may not be able to get access to health treatments when they need them, they don’t want to have to wait long periods of time” and that had contributed to a boom in private healthcare sales.
Aviva’s private healthcare premiums rose more than 50 per cent last year.
These made up nearly 70 per cent of total treatments in the first half of 2023, while individuals paying for themselves dropped slightly from last year, by four per cent.
Head of health and protection at consultancy Broadstone, Brett Hill, said the self-pay market “appears to have reached a ceiling”.
On average, self-pay levels have plateaued at around 20,000 admissions higher per quarter than before the pandemic.
But he said there is still a “strong appetite” for people wishing to fund their own healthcare as the public health crisis shows few signs of disappearing.
Hill added: “As employers continue to face a battle against economic inactivity because of long-term ill-health, provision of employer-funded healthcare is also expected to increase, helping more employees access the healthcare they need to stay active and productive in the workplace.”
There is wider concern for the UK labour market, which has failed to recover from the impact of Covid.
Workplace inactivity due to long-term sickness has increased this year, with a record 2.6m out of work, according to data from the ONS.