NHS Taps Private Hospitals To Deal With Waiting List Backlog

England’s beloved NHS continues to struggle as the impact of the pandemic stretches far and wide. But now leaked figures show that the situation is likely to get worse before it improves and that private healthcare groups are being called in to help ease the backlog.

[Related reading: 1 in 5 Struggling To Secure GP Appointments As Long Covid Lingers]

NHS England Hospital Waiting Lists Could Top 10 Million By 2024

Leaked projections suggest that NHS waiting lists in England could potentially surpass 10 million by 2024.

The projections, prepared for ministers and NHS bosses, were seen by The Spectator magazine. They show that in the best-case scenario, hospital waiting lists in England are likely to reach 9.2 million by 2024 (falling to 8.5 million by 2025). But if the downside scenario plays out, we could see waiting lists top 10.7 million in the same period (easing to just 10.3 million the following year).

Fittingly, the figures emerged a day after health secretary Sajid Javid told MPs that the current NHS England backlog of 6 million would keep on growing for another two years.

In an attempt to curb the upward trend, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak plan to imminently increase National Insurance (NI) contributions. From the 1st of April 2022, employees, employers and the self-employed will all pay 1.25p more in the pound for NI. It is said the rise will help fund social care in England and help the NHS recover after the pandemic.

Under the government’s “elective recovery plan” for the NHS – which is designed to help ease the backlog – NHS England has committed to ensuring that by this July no patient has to wait longer than two years for planned care, and that no one will have their care delayed by more than a year by March 2025.

NHS Looks To Private Hospitals To Ease Omicron Burden

Meanwhile, a deal struck in mid-January between the NHS and private hospital operators will see the latter step in to help ensure the former does not become overwhelmed amid ongoing COVID-19 variants of infection.

NHS England will reportedly pay between £225 million and £525 million to private hospital operators in order to utilise private hospitals and staff if COVID-19 admissions soar to levels that would create delays in treatment for cancer patients and individuals with other serious conditions.

In a letter to health secretary Sajid Javid, dated 7 January, NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said private hospital groups will receive a minimum of £75 million to £90 million a month between January and March in return for the NHS securing reserved capacity at their hospitals. This could rise to £175 million a month if hospital admissions increased significantly. 

Private hospital groups say they could provide around 5,600 beds if required, of which 2,000 to 3,000 could be staffed, subject to staff absence levels, although this hasn’t been confirmed.

[Related reading: 5 Healthcare Trends For 2022]

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With NHS England hospital waiting lists continuing to grow, the private healthcare sector’s role has again been highlighted. With private healthcare, patients can not only bypass long waiting lists, but also benefit from being able to choose among the very best private healthcare facilities and professionals.