Private hospital admissions rise to record levels

Private hospital admissions rose 1% year-on-year in the third quarter (July to September) 2025 to a record for that time of year.

(c) Jeshoots.com/Unsplash

(c) Jeshoots.com/Unsplash

There were 230,0000 reported admissions in the quarter, according to the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN).

The most admissions (45,750) came from patients aged 50-59.

Private medical insurance (+1%) remained the preferred payment method and was also at a record for the quarter.

Self-pay remained steady and made up just under a third of admissions.

Chemotherapy admissions (19,910) were higher than any other procedure for the first time ever, followed by cataract (19,075), upper GI endoscopy (10,390) and colonoscopy (9,160).

Weight loss surgeries fell, however, with gastric balloons and gastrectomies both down 72%.

The proportion of total admissions in England which were in a private setting remained at 6%. NHS funded procedures taking place in private hospitals also remained steady at 5% of the total admissions. The majority of admissions remained ‘NHS hospital, NHS funded' which was at 88%.

Richard Wells, PHIN's director of technology and insights, said: ‘Our recent report Cancer care in the UK demonstrated the popularity of the private sector for patients with cancer. Therefore, it is no surprise to see the growth in the use of private care for chemotherapy in the latest data.

‘We have been seeing a greater variety in the type of procedures for which people go private for some time. Chemotherapy and diagnostic tests have become much more prevalent, whereas the traditional top 3 of cataracts, hip replacements and knee replacements are no longer dominant.

‘We are also seeing a decline in the popularity of weight loss surgeries as people turn to the popular jabs like Wegovy (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) instead.'

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