Bristol has the third highest demand for doctors and dentists out of any other major UK city. The rate of searches for private healthcare across the UK is now three times the national average, compared with what it was ten years ago.
Bristol, which had the third highest search rates out of 25 cities was 40 per cent higher than the national average. Research carried out earlier this year by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found an increase in those using private healthcare who would have previously gone to the NHS.
Chris Thomas from the IPPR Think Tank said the increase is worrying because it undermines the logic of universal healthcare being according to need rather than finances. With private services increasingly being available within NHS buildings, those at IPPR fear that such trends could increase health inequalities.
