The boom in private healthcare: a two-tier system?

Post-pandemic waiting lists are pushing people to go private. Could this dramatically undermine the NHS?

Surgical operating theatre
Private patients paid for 250,000 treatments last year
(Image credit: Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Why are waiting lists so long?

Even before Covid-19, demand for NHS healthcare was far outstripping supply: there were 4.4 million people on waiting lists in England in early 2020. But the pandemic made things much worse: about 2.4 million NHS operations were cancelled in England and Wales in 2021. GP appointments were greatly restricted. There are now 6.6 million people – over a tenth of the population – waiting for treatment. Around 332,000 have been waiting over a year – 13 times the comparable number from May 2020.

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