The quality and safety of care delivered to patients by independent healthcare providers continues to hit record highs, according to a new report. As part of its latest annual audit of patient safety and quality in the independent sector, the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) found that 94% of its members are now rated good or outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
This includes 92% of independent sector hospitals achieving these ratings – a significant improvement since 2018 when around just 70% were rated good or outstanding. The report also found that 87% of independent locations rated for diagnostic imaging services; 92% of independent community healthcare locations; and 83% of IHPN members who deliver neurodevelopmental assessments (including those for ADHD and Autism) are rated good or outstanding by the healthcare regulator.
With independent providers now treating record levels of both NHS and privately funded patients, IHPN’s analysis also takes an in-depth look at patient outcomes and experience across a wide range of services in the sector.
- One in five of all NHS elective orthopaedic activity now takes place in the sector, with the latest Patient Report Outcome Measures (PROMS) data showing seven of the top 10 providers treating NHS patients for both hips and knees are independent providers. Moreover, 98% of NHS inpatients treated by independent sector organisations also now say they would recommend their provider to their friends or family.
- As a major provider of ophthalmology treatment - cataract surgery is the most common procedure undertaken privately with independent providers delivering over one fifth of all NHS ophthalmology activity – the latest Royal College of Ophthalmologists’ National Ophthalmic Database (NOD) data shows complication rates in the sector are well below expected limits.
- With growing numbers of cancer patients also choosing to access their treatment privately, over 70 independent providers now hold the Macmillan Quality Environment Mark for cancer care. This is awarded to organisations which “go above and beyond to create welcoming and friendly spaces” for cancer patients and which has been designed in collaboration with people living with cancer.
Over the last year, the independent healthcare sector has also continued to make significant progress in embedding Freedom to Speak Up as a cornerstone of patient safety, workforce wellbeing and organisational culture. The number of Freedom to Speak Up guardians operating across independent providers grew to over 600 in 2025 - a doubling of the numbers over the past two and a half years.
With rising numbers of people now “mixing and matching” both NHS and private care, IHPN are calling for further progress to be made to ensure that the collection of data and outcomes on safety and quality is better aligned across the entire healthcare system – helping patients to make the best possible choices around their care.
Dawn Hodgkins, Director of Regulation at the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), said: “With ever greater numbers of both NHS and private patients being treated in the sector, it’s hugely positive to see the sector continuing to build on its already strong record on safety and quality.
“That 94% of IHPN members are now rated good or outstanding by the CQC, is a real testament to the sector’s commitment to quality and its culture of improvement, with both patients themselves and other professional bodies and regulators reporting excellent outcomes, from cataract surgery to cancer care.
“In light of the growing role the sector is playing in the delivery of healthcare in the UK, it’s now more important than ever that further progress is made to ensure that independent providers are fully factored into the evolving healthcare data landscape and wider national quality reforms – ensuring that patients have all the information they need to choose the safest, highest quality care for them and their families”.
IHPN’s latest Quality and Safety report can be found here
