Long waiting times prompts fears of 'two-tier' system

Concerns are growing that long NHS waiting times caused by the coronavirus crisis are creating a two-tier system, as more people turn to the private sector for quicker treatment.

Data shows a rise in the number of people self-funding treatment or investing in private health insurance. This follows warnings by leading doctors of the inevitable likelihood of mass cancellations of NHS operations in England this winter after waiting times reached the highest levels on record this summer.

Compare the Market said there had been an average 40 per cent increase in year-on-year private health insurance sales over the past seven months, and it expected demand for health insurance to continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels over the winter. Insurance companies like VitalityHealth also reported a rise in inquires and sales, while HCA Healthcare, which runs a number of private hospitals in London, said self-pay surgeries and procedures in some areas had doubled from last year.

David Hare, the chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Provider Network, said: “I think it’s a fairly general trend across the country that more patients are looking to fund their own care, and I don’t think that should come as a huge surprise. There’s been a steady growth in that over recent years anyway […] and we know that it is becoming more challenging to get prompt access to care in the NHS.”