The number of hospital procedures paid for by the NHS, but carried out by the private sector has increased by nearly 11% in one year, according to figures in the Hospital Episodes Statistics Admitted Patient Care, England 2011/12.
Private providers treated 345,200 NHS elective admissions with a procedure in 2011/12, a 10.5% increase on 2010/11. This private activity accounted for 4.3% of all NHS elective admissions with a procedure in 2011/12, compared to 4.0% in 2010/11. The three most common main procedures carried out by the 198 private providers for the NHS in 2011/12 were endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract, relating to the digestive system, prosthesis of lens relating to cataract surgery and endoscopic cartilage operations on knee joints.
