Private healthcare continues to be the preserve of wealthier employees, according to a report from Healthwatch England.
Its report The public’s perspective: The state of health and social care found people who are well off were much more likely to be able to access free or discounted private GP appointments through their work than those who were less financially comfortable.
But the report also found some respondents, particularly young people, were advised to consider paying for private care by NHS staff.
Savanta carried out a poll for Healthwatch on 24 and 25 September among 1,758 adults living in England from a nationally representative sample of the UK.
It found two in five (40%) of employed people describing their financial status as ‘very comfortable’ had access to free or discounted private GP appointments through work.
This compared to 16% who described themselves as ‘quite comfortable’, and around 10% as ‘just getting by’ and ‘really struggling’.
According to the research, private GP appointments through work are available to a third (33%) of the highest earners (those earning over £76k), compared to just 4% of those earning up to £21k.
Private physiotherapy appointments through work were found to be available to one in eight (13%), of the highest earners (those earning over £76k) compared to just 1% of those earning up to £21k.
Almost three in 10 (28%) of all the respondents said they had accessed private healthcare in the last year (either private health or dental care).
When asked for their reasons for going private, 37% thought they would receive better quality of care, 34% thought waits for treatment were too long and 22% paid for a procedure available on the NHS but not in their region.
Meanwhile one in five, 18%, of those who had not used private healthcare in the last year had considered doing so.
Of the most common reasons cited for considering private healthcare, more than half (52%) of the respondents felt they might receive better quality care.
More than a third (34%), said there was a long waiting list on the NHS; and 15% said the service they wanted wasn’t available on the NHS.
But the research also showed one in seven (14%) of the respondents reported that an NHS professional had advised them to consider paying for a private health service in the last year.
The largest group advised to go private were young people aged under 30.
In light of the report’s findings Healthwatch England made a series of recommendations for NHS England, commissioners and service providers.
These include:
Improving access for the most vulnerable by ensuring that:
- Commissioners and providers take all opportunities to provide early or ongoing support through additional staff roles, including mental health practitioners, peer support workers, and school-based teams.
- The NHS covers transport and accommodation costs where patients choose to travel for quicker treatment at another setting
Better signposting to support services, including voluntary organisations and services that support unpaid carers.
Improving patient communications by ensuring that:
- There are improvements to online referral trackers, so people waiting for care know what is happening with their care.
- More proactive NHS communications with patients while they wait for treatment.
- Single points of contact, either in person, over the phone, or via the NHS app, so patients waiting for care can give feedback about issues or changes in their condition.
Louise Ansari, CEO at Healthwatch England, said: “With access to NHS care remaining the most significant challenge people report to us nationwide, we’re seeing a two-tier system emerge where access to healthcare services is often available faster to those with money to pay for it.
“Our polling shows, for example, that people who are more financially comfortable are much more likely to be able to access free or discounted private GP appointments through their work than those who are less financially comfortable.
“We are also concerned that one in seven people who answered our poll said they have been advised to consider paying for a private health service by NHS professionals, which many cannot afford.
“We know that many people, especially those on lower incomes, disabled people, carers and younger people, face real challenges accessing care and if they can access services, they sometimes choose not to attend GP or dental appointments or buy prescription medications to avoid extra costs.”
