Going Private 2024
Why do people use private healthcare?
Data from healthcare providers shows us that, since the covid-19 pandemic, there has been an ever increasing demand for private healthcare.
This report builds on our analysis in 2023, looking at the main reasons for this increased demand. We asked people why they choose private healthcare, allowing them to select all reasons which applied.
The most common single reason for choosing private healthcare remains the difficulty with accessing NHS care – nearly half of people (45%) cited this as a factor in their decision to use private healthcare.
The three major themes identified in 2023 still hold true, namely:
- There are still significant difficulties with accessing NHS care – challenges in getting an appointment, the tendency for NHS appointments to be cancelled, or not run on time.
- A significant proportion of people have insurance coverage – increasing people’s ability to access private care via this route
- The quality of care – more personalised care, the ability to get face-to-face appointments, the sense that quality of care in the private sector is superior.
One in four people (24%) said that ‘It is easier to book private healthcare appointments’. This may relate to both the actual ease of booking (e.g. online systems) but also how quickly appointments are available compared to the NHS. Once again, 12% of people said that they went private because their NHS appointments were postponed or cancelled.
One in five people (20%) said that they used private healthcare because they have private health insurance, either paid for by themselves or through their work.
Others choose private healthcare because they think that the quality of care may be higher. Almost one in five (19%) say that they can get more personalised care in the private healthcare system, that they think that the care available privately is higher quality (18%) or that they needed particular expertise that is only available privately (13%) as reasons for choosing private healthcare.
As with our survey in 2023, these results are consistent across different demographics, social grades and geographic regions.