PHIN said quarterly private admissions for the under 50s rose from 620 to 925 between Q4 (October to December) 2021 and Q3 (July to September) 2025, while the over-50 age group stayed relatively stable, at about 2,000 admissions per quarter.

Dr Christopher Smith-Brown, clinical advisor at PHIN, said increasing rates for the under 50s could be due to growing awareness and more accessibility to private services.

He said changes to screening thresholds were expected to lead to higher diagnostic demand with NHS projections indicating around 35% more endo‑colonoscopies will be needed.

‘More demand for screening and treatment means more pressure on an already strained NHS capacity,' Dr Brown said, adding: ‘Patients might turn to private providers in even greater numbers for earlier diagnosis and the consequent better outcomes.'

Dr Brown said the private sector had seen an 8% increase in lower GI endo/colonoscopies for the over-50s and a 48% increase for the under-50s since Q4 2021.

He added there had been more lower GI procedures for the under-50s in the private sector than the over-50s since Q2 2023.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with over 42,000 people diagnosed every year. Survival rates drop from nine out of ten to one out of ten between early and late stage diagnosis.

There were 73 cases per 100,000 population in England in 2023 and the incidence internationally has been rising sharply over the last 30 years, especially in younger adults.

Several risk factors have been attributed to the rise, including sedentary lifestyle, ultra-processed food and obesity.