Private clinics carrying out more NHS appointments and procedures
Using spare capacity in the private sector is key to the government’s target of ensuring that 92 per cent of patients in England should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment.
The number of NHS appointments, tests and operations delivered by private hospitals and clinics has increased by almost 500,000 this year, now totalling 6.15 million.
Listen to this article
Private medical providers report delivering around 10 per cent of elective NHS activity.
Between August 2024 and September 2025 they conducted an average of 19,000 surgical procedures and 100,000 outpatient appointments every week, treating more than 1.1 million people.
Read More: AI could save NHS staff 400,000 hours every month, trial finds
The government will also make use of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) and carry out more surgical procedures on evenings and weekends.
Mr Streeting said: “This is just one reform which has helped deliver 5 million more appointments, grown NHS productivity and cut waiting lists by 200,000.
He continued “We are also investing in growing the NHS capacity, opening up CDCs and operating theatres at evenings and weekends, and bringing in modern technology like robotic surgery."
David Hare, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, which represents private hospitals and clinics, said: “These latest figures demonstrate just how important the independent sector is in providing much-needed NHS treatment – delivering around 10 per cent of all NHS elective activity, and a record amount of appointments, tests and scans – all free at the point of use to patients.”
The NHS recently stated that many more patients were coming forward for treatment, whilst a doctors' strike in July left 50,000 appointments cancelled, adding to the pressure mounting on the health services.
Waiting lists will remain a focal point for the health secretary who made the recent promise to: “do everything I can to get NHS patients treated faster, free at the point of use."