PRIVATE medical procedures for common conditions are rocketing as the NHS restricts access or stops funding them altogether, new figures reveal.
Operations such as cataract surgery went up by 39 per cent, hernia repair by 110 per cent and tonsillectomies by 105 per cent – with procedures like these deemed ‘of limited value’ by the NHS.
GettyPrivate hernia repairs have gone up 110 per cent[/caption]Analysis of the latest data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) also revealed private admissions in England for breast reductions have increased by 61 per cent, and circumcision by 118 per cent.
While carpal tunnel syndrome treatment (64 per cent), and adenoid removals (145 per cent) are all on the increase, according to statistics.
The numbers have risen since the introduction of a list of procedures aimed at guiding NHS commissioners away from funding these treatments.
The Evidence-based Intervention (EBI) list was created to reduce the number of medical or surgical interventions which could be inappropriate for some patients in some circumstances- and to save the NHS money.
Jim Easton of Practice Plus Group hospitals, which performed the analysis, said: “It is correct that there are proper eligibility criteria to ensure that only those people who will benefit from surgery are offered it.
“In the last six years, however, through a combination of the COVID backlog, increasing financial pressures on the NHS, and the growing list of procedures they actively try to restrict, we have seen a marked increase in people in debilitating pain or discomfort who are perfect candidates for surgery but can’t get the referral.
“The NHS needs to take care to ensure the EBI programme is not drifting from one intended to benefit patients and reduce unnecessary interventions to one that is more intent on cost-cutting.
“More and more patients are voting with their feet and continuing to seek out these surgeries even if they have to pay for them.
“The EBI list has also created a postcode lottery, for example, where in one area it has adopted the list in its entirety and someone would find it almost impossible to get the treatment they need, in another, the NHS commissioners have recognised their population needs and adapted the list.
“The knock-on effect in not offering these treatments is the gradual disappearance of specialists with enough experience in delivering them, or enough younger doctors trained to perform them.”
Graeme Wakerley, 71, a retired haematologist who worked for many years in the NHS, was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia in 2023 but was unable to access surgery via them, so he chose to pay for Wellsoon private healthcare from Practice Plus Group.
He said: “A scan showed that the hernia wasn’t strangulated which meant it wasn’t considered dangerous and I would not be able to get surgery to fix it.
“The GP explained that unless it’s strangulated, you’re in severe pain or mental anguish, there was no point in applying for funding as I wouldn’t get surgery.
“Even when you do get on the list meaning it’s serious and you’re in severe pain, there would be a two-year wait for hernia surgery.”
“So, I had no choice but to pay. I have heard of many other people in similar situations. GPs are having to advise people to go private for surgery because there are so many restrictions on funding.”
TIMELINE OF THE NHS WAITING LIST
THE NHS waiting list in England has become a political flashpoint as it has ballooned in recent years, more than doubling in a decade.
The statistics for England count the number of procedures, such as operations and non-surgical treatments, that are due to patients.
The procedures are known as elective treatment because they are planned and not emergencies. Many are routine ops such as for hip or knee replacements, cataracts or kidney stones, but the numbers also include some cancer treatments.
This is how the wait list has changed over time:
August 2007: 4.19million – The first entry in current records.
December 2009: 2.32million – The smallest waiting list on modern record.
April 2013: 2.75million – The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition restructures the NHS. Current chancellor Jeremy Hunt was Health Secretary.
April 2016: 3.79million – Junior doctors go on strike for the first time in 40 years. Theresa May is elected Prime Minister.
February 2020: 4.57million – The final month before the UK’s first Covid lockdown in March 2020.
July 2021: 5.61million – The end of all legal Covid restrictions in the UK.
January 2023: 7.21million – New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to reduce waiting lists within a year, effectively April 2024.
September 2023: 7.77million – The highest figure on record comes during a year hit with strikes by junior doctors, consultants, nurses and ambulance workers.
February 2024: 7.54million – Ministers admit the pledge to cut the backlog has failed.
August 2024: 7.64million – List continues to rise under Keir Starmer’s new Labour Government.
September 2024: 7.57million – A one per cent decline is the first fall since February and a glimmer of hope.
December 2024: 7.46million – The list has fallen for four consecutive months.
January 2025: 7.43m – still falling but slowly, likely due to added strain on emergency services and more cancellations due to illness over winter.
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