Why 14,000 Scots have quit NHS Scotland waiting lists for private treatment

The number of Scots paying for private healthcare has skyrocketed in recent years, but new statistics obtained by Scottish Labour show tens of thousands are turning private when faced with lengthy NHS Scotland waiting times

Patients in Scotland are “emptying their savings accounts or going into debt” to pay for private healthcare, new statistics obtained by Scottish Labour show, amid spiralling NHS Scotland waiting lists.

Freedom of Information requests by the party show at least 14,383 Scottish patients stuck on waiting lists have turned to private healthcare since 2019. However, not all health boards provided information, meaning the true number is likely much higher.

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Seven health boards recorded a huge surge in the number of patients being removed from an NHS waiting list due to paying for private treatment between 2019 and 2023, and at least 1,564 patients have gone private this year.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) said it does not record who pays for the treatment, but did record a 77.7 per cent increase in patients being treated at private healthcare clinics. A rise in patients turning to private services was reported by every health board that records this data.

Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said the data shows thousands of Scottish patients “have been forced into the arms of private healthcare due to SNP failure to support our NHS”.

“With nearly one in six Scots now on an NHS waiting list, it’s no surprise that individual patients are emptying their savings accounts or going into debt because they just want the pain to stop,” she said.

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“But it’s also clear that the NHS in Scotland is struggling to deliver the services it used to just a few years ago and is forced to rely on referrals to private health services as a result. The UK Labour government is providing the funding for 160,000 additional appointments to reduce waiting lists, but it’s up to the SNP not to fritter that money away on sticking plaster approaches. 

“The SNP must act now to tackle waiting lists and get the NHS back to full strength so that everyone gets the healthcare they need.” 

Labour’s warning comes just a month after Scotland’s top medics warned a “two-tier healthcare system” is forming ,“which threatens the founding principles of the NHS”.

Compared to 2022, in 2023 the total number of Scottish patients skipping NHS waiting lists and instead being admitted to a private hospital was up 11 per cent, with self-pay admissions up 8 per cent - the highest level ever. 

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According to research conducted by the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) – an independent, not-for-profit, government mandated organisation - the number of admissions funded by private healthcare insurance was up 13 per cent. In total, there were 46,000 private hospital admissions in Scotland last year.

Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of the BMA’s Scottish council, said in June that Scotland needed to have “an urgent discussion” on the future of health and social care services.

“Patients are facing unacceptably long waiting times and a two-tier system of healthcare is rapidly developing where only those who can afford it are able to access timely treatment,” he said. “This is unacceptable and threatens the founding principles of our NHS.

“Indeed, the starting point for any discussion must be that our health service should remain free at the point of need, but we need to examine how this can be achieved for both now and the future.”

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A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “On Thursday the Health Secretary confirmed initial investment of £30m to target reductions to national backlogs that built up through the pandemic, targeted at specialty areas where it can have the greatest impact against the longest waits, including cancer, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, dermatology and diagnostics.

“NHS Scotland makes limited use of the independent sector. In 2022/23, total spend represented just 0.7 per cent (£116m) of the total frontline health budget, and has been consistently below 1 per cent since 2006/07. This compares to NHS England who spent 10.4 per cent of their £159.6bn total outturn in 2022 - 23 on the purchase of healthcare from non-NHS bodies.

“The use of the independent sector to provide additional capacity is not a new development.

“As is the case across the UK, in certain circumstances limited use of alternative providers, within or without the local area, including independent sector providers, may be required in response to capacity constraints.”

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