Private healthcare admissions in Q1 2025 totalled 241,000, making it the second highest quarter on record since the pandemic, according to the latest data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN).
This was 4 per cent lower than the peak of 244,000 reported in Q1 2024, and marks the first year-on-year decline in first-quarter admissions.
The data reveals that insured admissions held steady at a record 171,000, matching Q1 2024 and standing 58 per cent higher than the 108,000 reported in Q1 2021.
Meanwhile, self-pay admissions fell 4 per cent year-on-year, dropping from 73,000 in Q1 2024 to 70,000 in Q1 2025. According to PHIN, the figures underline a demand for self-pay is levelling off, while insurance, fuelled by expanding employer-funded healthcare benefits, continues to drive growth in the private healthcare market.
Broadstone head of health & protection Brett Hill says: “PHIN’s latest data shows insured admissions holding at record highs, with Q1 2025 seeing 171,000 admissions – almost 60 per cent higher than four years ago. While self-pay appears to have plateaued, private medical insurance continues to drive growth as employers expand coverage and employees increasingly expect this benefit as standard.
“It comes amid leading political figures calling for increased taxation on private medical services to help fill the UK’s fiscal hole. We would strongly warn the Government against such a move. Private healthcare and company-funded benefits are playing a critical role in giving people faster access to care, easing pressure on the NHS and helping employees return to work sooner.
“Although there are green shoots of progress in NHS service levels, waiting lists remain at unprecedented highs. Increasing Insurance Premium Tax or introducing new levies on the private health market would be counterproductive – making cover less affordable, deterring take-up and ultimately pushing more patients back onto the NHS.
“At a time when businesses are proactively investing in their workforce’s health to reduce absence and protect productivity, Government policy should be encouraging, not undermining, this vital complementary support.”