More people are paying for private healthcare in the UK due to record waiting times for NHS services, according to a new report.
Liz Heath, the report's author, said: "There does appear to be a direct correlation between the well-publicised and lengthening NHS waiting lists and waiting times for elective procedures and diagnostics and enquiries around self-pay. Since those waiting lists are not falling, we would expect demand to be sustained as people seek to access treatment."
The NHS is trialling new ways to cut waiting times, including with a monitoring device to hasten diagnosis of irrgegular heart rhythms, which reduced the wait at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital from as high as eight weeks to a matter of days. Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System launched a "life-saving" phone app for detecting cancer, cutting unnecessary dermatology referrals. But one scheme could let you skip NHS waiting lists entirely.
