Fears of two-tier health system as more turn to private care, says watchdog

A two-tier health system is emerging with people increasingly paying for tests and treatments on the private sector to beat NHS waits, a patient watchdog is warning.

Healthwatch England said feedback from patients combined with polling suggested use of the private sector is on the rise, with long NHS waits said to be a key factor.

Private sector providers said alongside rises in people paying for treatment, some were also using the private sector to get scans and tests done before returning to the NHS, with their results, in a bid to get seen quicker.

The government said it is making improvements, adding it is determined to reduce the delays that meant some felt the need to pay fore care.

The survey of nearly 2,600 people in England found 16% of people had used the private sector in the past year, up from 9% two years previously. Four in 10 of those that had paid for care cited long NHS waits.

Healthwatch England, which also analysed 390,000 pieces of feedback from the public over the past three years to draw up its conclusions, said the government had to do more to improve waiting times.

It said the NHS should also provide more information to patients while they wait, to reassure them about when they might be seen, as well as helping them manage any symptoms.

Currently nearly four in 10 people wait longer than the target time of 18 weeks for hospital treatment.

Figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network show nearly 950,000 operations and treatments were carried out in the private sector last year in the UK.

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Source: BBC News, 16 March 2026