Both self-pay and insured admissions fell in Q2 2022, despite growth in NHS waiting lists accelerating, according to figures from Broadstone.
Self-pay admissions in Q2 2022 stood at 134 per cent of their 2019 level, down from 136 per cent in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, insured admissions are 88 per cent of their 2019 level, down from 89 per cent previously.
In real terms, self-pay admissions dropped slightly to 67,000 in Q2 2022, from 68,000 in Q1, in the first sign that the cost-of-living crisis is starting to impact the ability of people to fund their own private medical treatment albeit levels are still significantly higher than in 2019, when there were 50,000 admissions per quarter.
Brett Hill, head of health & protection at Broadstone says: “The noticeable “Insurance Gap” that has been growing in the wake of the pandemic narrowed this month, but for all the wrong reasons.
“We are now starting to see self-pay treatments drop off as household savings accumulated during the pandemic are eroded by the rising cost of living, including higher mortgage rates. The self-pay demographic tends to be wealthier so we might expect sustained demand for self-pay given the inexorable rise in NHS waiting lists.”