NHS to expand use of private sector to tackle waits

The use of the private sector to tackle the NHS backlog in England is to be expanded, the government says.

Ministers say they want to unlock spare capacity to get more people the treatment and operations they need.

This includes opening eight privately-run diagnostic centres and using new rules to make it easier for the NHS to purchase care in the private sector.

It comes as a record 7.5 million people are waiting for treatment - three million more than before the pandemic.

Making greater use of the private sector is something Labour has called for, and that the government has been looking at since late 2022 after setting up the Elective Recovery Taskforce.

The private sector already carries out hundreds of thousands of treatments and appointments for the NHS every year.

But it has said it has the capacity to carry out about 30% more than it is.

Ministers are hoping a relaxation of the rules governing the award of contracts by the NHS will create more flexibility for local health bosses to use the private sector when needed.

In these circumstances, the private sector is asked to do the work at NHS prices.

The rule change - known as the provider selection regime - will come in before the end of the year and means there will be greater freedom to award contracts without tendering.

As well as this, the government has announced 13 new community diagnostic centres - eight of which will be run by the private sector in:

The five NHS centres are in:

These will be open by the end of the year and are part of a commitment to set up a network of 160 clinics by 2025.

There are currently 114 open, allowing patients to access a range of tests and scans outside of hospital.

Despite this, the NHS is still struggling to carry out diagnostic tests quickly enough, with a quarter of patients waiting more than six weeks, compared to 3-4% before the pandemic.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: "We must use every available resource to ease the pressure on the NHS."

Rachel Power, of the Patients Association, said she welcomed the announcement. She added that, coupled with previous guidance to help people exercise more choice over having treatment, patients should get an option of five different hospitals and clinics when they are referred. This should help them get the quickest treatment they can.

Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the government should have acted sooner to make more use of the private sector.

"Patients face record waiting times while the Tories dither and delay," he said.