NHS doctors offered up to £5,000 to recruit colleagues for private hospitals

Exclusive: HCA Healthcare is spending tens of thousands of pounds on golden hello' bonuses for staff from overstretched public service

NHS doctors are being offered cash bonuses of up to 5,000 to recruit colleagues for jobs at private hospitals, as commercial healthcare providers compete for staff with an overstretched public health service.

US-owned HCA Healthcare, which runs more than 30 facilities in London and Manchester, and claims to be the largest private provider in the world, is spending tens of thousands of pounds recruiting NHS-trained doctors, the Guardian can reveal.