Introduction

This is IHPN’s fourth annual report looking at public attitudes to private healthcare – what do people think about it, what services do they use, what do they understand about it?

While the NHS remains hugely valued and trusted by the public, people are increasingly turning towards private healthcare providers for a range of services and treatments, from scans and tests, to operations and treatments in hospital, as well as private primary care, physiotherapy and mental health services.

There are a range of ways you can access private healthcare – either through paying directly yourself – referred to as ‘self-pay’ – or often through private medical insurance that the patient pays for directly or receives as a benefit of employment.

With more and more people paying for treatment, our “Going Private” research is now seen as the definitive view on public attitudes to private healthcare – helping inform the debate about the future of healthcare, as well as supporting healthcare providers themselves to continue to improve the people’s experiences of using private healthcare.