in England were delivered by private hospitals and clinics in the last 12 months – that’s almost 500 000 higher than the previous year. The Health Secretary….[was not criticised for the obvious evidence of failures in NHS England.]
Professor John Robertson OBA
The figure, 6.15 million comes from the private sector – David Hare, Independent Healthcare Providers Network.
Scotland, you ask?
From Grok AI:
NHS Scotland’s policy prioritizes public sector delivery for elective care, with limited reliance on the independent (private) sector compared to other UK nations. Use of private hospitals and clinics is targeted at specific backlogs (e.g., orthopaedics, ophthalmology, endoscopy) and is often short-term or regionally focused. Exact aggregate figures for NHS-funded activity in private facilities over the precise period of October 26, 2024, to October 26, 2025, are not publicly available in official statistics as of the current date (the most recent comprehensive data covers up to Q3 2024, with partial updates for 2024-25). However, based on Scottish Government reports, Audit Scotland data, and health board disclosures, I estimate approximately 50,000 to 70,000 appointments, tests, and operations were delivered in private hospitals and clinics for NHS Scotland patients in the last 12 months. This is derived from expenditure trends, procedure volumes, and historical patterns.
This is an estimate, as is, given it’s diversity of ownership, the private sector figure but, all things being equal, you might expect the NHS England figure to be 10 times greater, at 500 000 to 600 000. It is, however, at least, 100 times greater at 6 150 000.
This dramatic contrast can be seen in the distribution of private health care providers across the UK:
The above from September 2023, shows private healthcare providers (red) and MPs taking money from them to push their interests (blue £), notably then only one in Scotland – Ian Murray, Edinburgh South (Labour).
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Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
There is a Nuffield Hospital in Glasgow’s West End, which is just across Great Western Road from the main entrance to Gartnavel General Hospital. A fair proportion of the services at the Nuffield are provided by medical staff who are mainly employed at Gartnavel, but do additional work at the Nuffield.
If they are treating private patients at the Nuffield, while still fulfilling their contractual obligations at Gartnavel, I have no quibble. But, if they are treating NHS patients who have been redirected to the Nuffield because of shortage of space and/or staff at Gartnavel, for, say, cataract removal, and these operations are undertaken by staff whose main contract is with the NHS, then I have concerns about the proper use of public money since the shareholders of the Nuffield have invested in it to make a profit.
I have had cataract operations in both eyes. Both were carried out at Gartnavel. However, on the second occasion, the staff who carried out the operation were from a private health contractor based in Newcastle – it’s logo was on the uniforms. The second operation was on a Saturday morning. A neighbour who was a nurse in the eye department told me that the Gartnavel staff were not allowed to work on Saturdays, other than in emergencies.
An example of such emergency treatment on a Saturday occurred when my wife suffered a detached retina and a surgeon, who was due to attend the local rugby club dinner, came in to Gartnavel to carry out the operation to reattach her retina.
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John,
It was said in the 2014 referendum by Douglas Alexander that more money was spent on NHS patients in England than in Scotland per head of the population. I thought at the time this was a devastating statement but on reflection true for the reason that private health care involvement increased costs and therefore the statement had a ring of truth.
The comparison between NHS England and NHS Scotland cant be aligned if the level of private health care companies per patient is not the same in both countries.
Thank you for your excellent work,
Bob McNair
K
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Thanks Bob
John
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