Headline Findings

This report covers a wide range of topics relating to public attitudes to private healthcare, with some of the most notable findings including:

• More than 7 in 10 people (71%) say they would consider using private healthcare, up almost 10% in two years.

• Half (49%) of 35-44 year olds are expecting to use private healthcare in the coming year – a jump of over 10% in just the past 12 months.

• While the challenges in accessing NHS appointments is a key motivator for going private (cited by 46% of people who have gone private) there have been significant increases in the number of people saying they went private because they have Private Medical Insurance (24% vs 20% last year), or to get more “personalised care” (24% vs 17% last year). This suggests flexibility and convenience is becoming as important as access.

• People are increasingly looking to their employers for access to private healthcare – almost two thirds (62%) of people think “All workplaces should offer private healthcare as part of their employee benefits package”, with almost 7 in 10 18-24 year olds saying they would be more likely to apply for a new job if it offered private health insurance.

• Patient satisfaction remains very high with 88% of people who have accessed private healthcare – both through insurance and via self-pay – saying it was value for money.

Headline Findings

This report covers a wide range of topics relating to public attitudes to private healthcare, with some of the most notable findings including:

• More than 7 in 10 people (71%) say they would consider using private healthcare, up almost 10% in two years.
• Half (49%) of 35-44 year olds are expecting to use private healthcare in the coming year – a jump of over 10% in just the past 12 months.
• While the challenges in accessing NHS appointments is a key motivator for going private (cited by 46% of people who have gone private) there have been significant increases in the number of people saying they went private because they have Private Medical Insurance (24% vs 20% last year), or to get more “personalised care” (24% vs 17% last year). This suggests flexibility and convenience is becoming as important as access.
• People are increasingly looking to their employers for access to private healthcare – almost two thirds (62%) of people think “All workplaces should offer private healthcare as part of their employee benefits package”, with almost 7 in 10 18-24 year olds saying they would be more likely to apply for a new job if it offered private health insurance.
• Patient satisfaction remains very high with 88% of people who have accessed private healthcare – both through insurance and via self-pay – saying it was value for money.