Rising corporate demand for private health services could see a record 900,000 private admissions in 2024, according to new data.
The number of insured private health admissions increased by 11 per cent in first three quarters of 2024, according to the most recent figures published by the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN).
The figures show that there were 458,000 insured admissions over this period. Data has yet to be released for the last quarter of the year.
Broadstone says growth have been driven by surging corporate demand for private healthcare solutions from employers who are concerned about long waiting lists for NHS treatment, leading to increased sickness absence, low productivity and economic inactivity due to ill health.
In contrast, the PHIN figures shows that the number of self-pay private medical admissions are plateauing, in part due to the limit on the numbers of people able to fund expensive treatments entirely out of their own pocket.
In Q1-Q3 2023, there were 207,000 self-pay admissions compared to 206,000 through the first three quarters of 2022.
Broadstone says that if these annualised rate of growth recorded over the past 12 months of available data were to be continued — 11 per cent for insured admissions and 0.4 per cent for self-pay — total private healthcare admissions would reach 917,000 in 2024 (up from an expected 882,000 in 2023), of which 661,000 would be PMI-funded.
Broadstone head of health and protection Brett Hill says: “A physically and mentally well workforce is critical to any business’ success. The crisis in the NHS means that employers are having to take matters into their own hands and invest in private healthcare solutions that give their employees access to the medical treatment they need, at the time they need it.
“We continue to see huge demand for the expansion of company healthcare schemes to cover more employees, and for preventative services like health screening programmes which can help catch illnesses early and avoid the more complex or chronic health conditions that are so damaging to the economic health of the country.”
Hill added: “We now face the realistic prospect of one million private healthcare admissions every year, primarily driven by the rise in PMI-funded treatments.
“It demonstrates the rapid pace at which UK businesses have pivoted towards investment in private healthcare services in recent years, and this looks set to be a trend that will only gather momentum.
“We see no silver bullet for the NHS. Waiting lists are expected to remain high meaning patients risk missing out on diagnoses, delayed treatment, and health issues evolving into more chronic and sadly even life threatening conditions in some cases. The UK economy can ill afford the impact this is having on its workforce, and more and more businesses are waking up to that fact.”