7th May 2025

Private providers 3 times more expensive
Northamptonshire ICB found the use of independent providers under “right to choose” rules for diagnosis and treatment of autism and ADHD was up to three times more expensive than their local provision.

Outsourcing ‘fuels inequality and longer waits’
The expansion of private providers into NHS-funded care has reduced surgical admissions at NHS hospitals and is associated with rising waiting times for all patients. The poorest 20% of patients were significantly less likely to be treated in the private sector and faced longer waiting times than the richest 20%.

Not enough GP training posts
We often hear that there are “ongoing difficulties in recruiting enough GPs” but currently, the crisis is not in recruitment but frozen recruitment. Thousands of doctors who applied to train as GPs are rejected each year due to lack of training posts. The shortage of GPs is entirely within the government’s control, bound by funding.

Hospitals paid to remove patients from waiting
Hospitals in England are being offered unlimited bonus payments to remove people they have decided do not need treatment from their waiting lists.