Private healthcare boom fuelled by NHS waiting lists

UK market rose to all-time high of 12.4bn last year, with NHS paying for nearly 3.5bn of procedures to ease backlog

The value of the UK's private healthcare market rose to a record 12.4bn last year as long NHS waiting lists fuelled demand from individuals and the health service paid for nearly 3.5bn of procedures to help ease the care backlog.

As private medical insurance boomed, total revenues generated in the independent healthcare sector hit an all-time high in real terms pegged to 2003 prices, research revealed.