What do people use private healthcare for?

People use private healthcare for a full range of healthcare needs. Everything from seeing a GP, to a doctor for an initial consultation, for diagnostics or scans, through to an operation or ongoing treatment for cancer and other conditions.

Nearly half of those who’ve used private healthcare (44%) said they have accessed a consultation with a specialist doctor. 32% said they’d had a consultation with another professional, and 30% had received a diagnostic test.

Around 3 in 10 (29%) of the time people use private healthcare for an operation – either a day case or an overnight inpatient admission. However, the most common single category is for a consultation with a doctor or other healthcare professional (36% combined). Another significant category is for diagnostic tests and scans with 12% of the total.

Over 65s were much more likely than other groups to have had an operation carried out privately. Just under half (48%) of the over 65s who have used private healthcare said their most recent experience using private healthcare was for an operation.