The Market – an overview

Our members were asked about the wider private healthcare market, including for NHS-funded, PMI-funded, and domestic and international self-pay.

When it comes to feelings about different markets, the four bars show that respondents feel most positively about the PMI-funded services, with 88% of respondents viewing it very positively or positively. This is followed by Domestic self-pay services at 86% and NHS services both at 54%, and finally international self-pay at 10%.

When we compare these findings to last year, the biggest changes are in NHS funded services and international self-pay. Respondents are feeling much more positively about the market for the provision of NHS funded services – an increase to 54% feeling very positive or positive from 30% in 2022. This reflects the pressures in the NHS and the focus on utilisation of the independent sector, along with the emphasis on patient choice. 

Similarly, when it comes to the PMI funded market, this is an area that offers real potential growth, though we see that providers are keen to balance this with their work to support the NHS in clearing the backlog.  

Respondent comments suggest that demand in the domestic self-pay market is still strong, fuelled by ever growing NHS waiting lists for elective care and access challenges in general practice, although we can see that the growth is decelerating. 

In terms of the market of international self-pay, respondents this year are feeling much less confident, with a decrease from 55% feeling very positive or positive last year to 10% this year, which brings us back to ‘normal” pre-Covid levels.