BBC analysis of Care Quality Commission data shows that 1,238 doctors registered as independent consulting doctors in the five years to the end of 2025, compared to 396 in the previous five years. Between 2024 and 2025 alone, new registrations rose by 58%. A 2024 report by LaingBuisson estimated that 13% of GP consultations were private, up from 3% two decades earlier.
Regional examples illustrate the trend. In Essex, new independent registrations rose from six in 2024 to 12 in 2025, according to BBC analysis. According to BBC News, Dr Yvonne Girgis-Hanna, who works part-time for the NHS and part-time privately from a chiropractic clinic in Saffron Walden, described how she could not work as a full-time NHS GP. She said the days she works in the NHS leave her exhausted, with up to 30 face-to-face contacts plus extra calls and paperwork. Her private patients pay from £129 for a 20-minute appointment. Cambridge Private Doctors now has 14 GPs working across multiple sites, up from ad-hoc sessions.
I could not work as a full-time NHS GP.
The proportion of people opting for private healthcare has increased significantly over the past two years, according to Healthwatch England. A Savanta poll commissioned by the organisation found that in 2023, 9% of those surveyed reported accessing private healthcare within the preceding year, rising to 16% by 2025. Individuals earning over £80,000 were more likely to have paid for private treatment. In 2025, 30% chose private options for convenience, compared to 14% in 2023.
Meanwhile, record numbers of patients treated in private hospitals are being rushed back into the NHS for emergency care, according to Daily Mirror analysis of Freedom of Information data. The analysis suggests there would have been almost 500 instances this year of patients being blue-lighted back into NHS hospitals for emergency care from private hospitals. A total of 6.15 million appointments, tests and operations were delivered by independent providers for NHS patients in 2025, around half a million more than in 2024.
The days I do in the NHS, the next day I'm totally wiped out... You might have 30 face-to-face contacts, then extra telephone calls and paperwork. You just don't have time to even go to the toilet.
NHS figures show the waiting list in England has decreased for the third consecutive month, with an estimated 7.25 million treatments awaiting completion at the end of January, affecting 6.13 million patients. The waiting list peaked at a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said in a public speech: "I'll do everything I can to get NHS patients treated faster, free at the point of use. This is a principled, progressive position, not just a pragmatic one. We're not prepared to continue two-tier healthcare, when those who can afford it get treated on time, and those who can't are left behind."
If you imagine £120 for somebody that might be presenting 20 times, it is very little.
Chris McCann, acting chief executive at Healthwatch England, said in a press release: "The NHS 10-Year Plan aims to tackle long waits for elective care, however, this work needs to move faster if we want to boost patient confidence, stop the move towards two-tier healthcare, and restore the NHS as a truly universal service for all." He added that patients need timely confirmation that their referral has been received and accepted, and information on managing symptoms while they wait.
According to Daily Mirror - Main, Cat Hobbs, director of We Own It, described the figures as demonstrating the danger and waste of privatising the NHS, saying private hospitals do not train doctors, have no emergency care, and choose the easiest cases, making them a burden on the NHS.
It’s truly shocking that this Labour government is exposing our NHS to ever more private sector cherry picking. These figures demonstrate the danger and waste of privatising the NHS. Private hospitals don’t train doctors, they have no emergency care and they choose the easiest cases. This disastrous cocktail makes them a burden on our NHS, which is forced to clean up after them.
Several unknowns remain. The exact number of private GP registrations is unclear because CQC and NHS England do not isolate that category. It is also unknown how many of the emergency transfers from private hospitals to NHS were due to complications from elective procedures versus other causes. The total number of private GP consultations in England per year is not recorded, and the government has not specified measures to address the rise in private healthcare use.
I’ll do everything I can to get NHS patients treated faster, free at the point of use. This is a principled, progressive position, not just a pragmatic one. We’re not prepared to continue two-tier healthcare, when those who can afford it get treated on time, and those who can’t are left behind.
The NHS 10-Year Plan aims to tackle long waits for elective care, however, this work needs to move faster if we want to boost patient confidence, stop the move towards two-tier healthcare, and restore the NHS as a truly universal service for all.
This includes timely confirmation that their referral has been received and accepted – not lost in an administrative black hole – and information on managing their symptoms while they wait.