A report from Healthwatch England has shown that increasingly those that can afford it are paying for tests and treatments, while those that cannot languish on growing NHS waitlists, increasing the risk of a “two tier” healthcare system.
Key findings from the poll of more than 2,500 UK adults, undertaken in conjunction with Savanta, found that 16 per cent have used private services such as non‑urgent treatment and diagnostic tests in the past year, almost double the proportion in 2023 (9 per cent).
Long waits are now the leading reason people choose private care. Nearly four in ten, (39 per cent), cited this as their main motivation, compared with 2023, when the most common reason was perceived better quality, (37 per cent).
Other reasons people gave for going private included better quality of care, 31 per cent, convenience, 30 per cent, and being ineligible for the procedure on the NHS, (20 per cent).
Income strongly shapes access to private treatment. Only 10 per cent of people earning under £20,000 used private care, compared with 35 per cent of those earning £80,000 or more.
Chris McCann, acting chief executive at Healthwatch England, says: “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.”
Although the waiting list has fallen slightly over the past year, an estimated 6.13m people were waiting for planned care on the NHS at the end of January 2026, including 2.7m people of whom had been waiting longer than the target time of 18 weeks.
Mark Hamson, managing director of insurance at Westfield Health, says: The trend towards private healthcare being the go-to for a larger portion of the working population poses as much challenge as it does opportunity for UK businesses.
“By taking more responsibility for employee wellbeing through comprehensive provision of private healthcare, businesses can have greater control over their employee retention and productivity driven by the added value the company is providing.”
Westfield Health’s 2026 survey of workers found that the demand for private healthcare far out scaled the level of provision, with nearly twice as many workers (23 percent) citing it as a top workplace benefit as those who received private healthcare access through work (13 per cent).
