Millions of UK patients forced to go private amid record NHS waiting lists

Exclusive: 10% of adults turned to private sector or independent healthcare in past year

• Case study: why one NHS patient had to go private

Millions of patients are being forced to pay for private healthcare amid record NHS waiting lists and are having to cut spending, raid savings or get into debt to fund it, new research reveals.

One in 10 (10%) adults in the UK have turned to the private sector or independent healthcare in just the last 12 months, according to a survey commissioned by charity Engage Britain. Of those, almost two-thirds (63%) did so because they faced long delays or could not access treatment on the NHS.