Why do people go private?

The most common reason for going private remains not being able to get an NHS appointment quickly enough – cited by 38% of people – with 1 in 8 people (13%) saying they went private because their NHS appointment was cancelled or postponed.  

At the same time, there has been an increase in the proportion of people going private because they believe the quality of care is better rising to 24%, compared to 19% last year.

Likewise, people are increasingly attracted to the flexibility and convenience that private healthcare provides – with almost 3 in 10 people (28%) who have gone private say they did so because it is easier to book appointments, and over 1 in 5 (22%) of people saying they can get more personalised care.

With record numbers of people now having access to Private Medical Insurance (PMI) – largely through their employers – it’s not surprising that almost 1 in 4 people (23%) say they have gone private because they have health insurance.