The total number of private hospital admissions in quarter 3 (July to September) 2024 was 223,000 according to the latest figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN). This is the highest number for any quarter 3 (Q3) in any year since PHIN began collecting data, and the fifth highest of any quarter for total admissions on record.
The increase continues to be driven by the growth in private medical insurance (admissions paid for this way were up 4% on Q3 2023). Admissions where patients ‘self-pay’ continued to reduce, but remain popular with patients at 30% above pre-covid pandemic levels.
Echoing this pattern, NHS funded admissions in NHS hospitals rose from 1.4m to 1.8m, the highest level since the pandemic. NHS-paid admissions at private hospitals also increased slightly.
Richard Wells, Director of Informatics at PHIN, explained: “We are continuing to see higher numbers of admissions at private hospitals as people look to exercise their right to choose who provides their treatment. Along with the increase in private patient admissions, elective admissions in the NHS are also now higher than pre-covid. This has the effect of reducing the proportion of private verses NHS admissions overall in England.
“These figures are for inpatient and daycase patients and do not include outpatient appointments, but still show that in Q3 2024, as has always been the case, the vast majority of healthcare in England was being delivered by the NHS (91%), with the private sector in a supporting role (9%).
“In fact, data shows that the maximum proportion of elective admissions undertaken by the private sector was 11% (in Q2 and Q4 2023, and Q1 2024) and the lowest was 7%, which was the norm before the pandemic.
“With the increased partnership between the NHS and private sector announced by Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, in January, we would expect to see an increase in the number of admissions paid for by the NHS and provided by private hospitals in 2025, and we will report on that in future market updates.
“We welcome the rise in admissions across the NHS and private sector as it means patients are increasingly able to access the care that they need. People looking to find out more about their treatment options, whether NHS or privately funded, should visit our free to use website phin.org.uk to find out more.”
PHIN is the not-for-profit, independent, government-mandated source of information on privately funded healthcare in the UK. PHIN believes that transparency and better information enable better care, and exists to support patient choice and to provide data that helps drive improvement in healthcare.
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