The number of patients receiving treatment through private medical insurance (PMI) rose in the fourth quarter of the year to reach its highest level since before the pandemic hit.
Last year was also the first year since the pandemic that the number of people receiving treatment on an insured basis reached more than half a million with 547,000 admissions, up from 496,000 in 2021 and 380,000 in 2020, although this was still down 5.7% from the 580,000 in 2019.
Data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) showed 140,000 insured patients received treatment between October and December 2022.
This was up 3% from 136,000 over the summer months and marked the highest level for PMI treatment since the final of quarter of 2019 when it hit 148,000.
In contrast, the self-pay market continued a steady decline with a thousand less self-pay admissions than in the previous quarter, taking that total down to 66,000.
In England, London and the South East regions continued to report the highest number of insured in-patient and day-case admissions in 2022, with 193,000 and 108,000 admissions respectively over the course of the year.
And in the devolved nations, Wales saw the number of insured in-patient and day-case admissions over the year grow by 3,000 on the previous year to hit 26,000 in 2022.
While in Scotland the number of admissions rose by two thousand to hit 22,000 over the same period, in Northern Ireland admissions remained at 3,000.
Cataract surgery continued as the largest area of activity for self-pay with 76,000 procedures completed in 2022, down 2,000 on the previous year.
However, in terms of growth, colonoscopy (bowel) and knee replacement (primary) saw the biggest increase in procedures – both up 3,000 on the previous year.
PHIN chief executive Ian Gargan (pictured) said: “Our figures show there were more private in-patient or day-case admissions (820,000) in 2022 than in any previous year since the PHIN began collecting data.
“At 207,000 the total for Q4 2022 was the highest for any individual quarter so far recorded by PHIN. The 2022 annual total is 5% higher than 2021 and 8% higher than 2019 before the Covid pandemic struck.
“There is a whole combination of factors influencing this growth, with the long NHS waiting lists, and uncertainty around how long you’ll be waiting, certainly key among them.
“We know that everyone loves and respects the NHS and its hard-working staff, but people are increasingly investigating healthcare alternatives.”