Doctors witness rise in private patients
A majority of doctors report they have seen an increase in patients turning to private healthcare over the last five years.
According to a survey of 467 physicians in the UK by information service Medscape UK, 57% have noted the rising trend.
The company said the rise was likely due to long waiting lists for treatment in the NHS.
Nine-in-ten doctors surveyed had seen an increase in patients struggling to access medical healthcare services in the last five years. They ranked access to healthcare as a top concern.
A third of doctors felt the NHS model was the best for the UK, while a third favoured a hybrid model of private and public. Only 3% of those surveyed backed moving to a completely private model.
However, the number in favour of a private-only model moved up to 7% among doctors aged under 45.
One survey respondent said: ‘Healthcare access has been severely compromised through the non-evidence-based policies driven by public health authorities and the Government.’
The study found 92% of doctors felt Covid-19 had impacted the overall quality of care. 79% believed the state of healthcare would deteriorate in a post-pandemic world.
For more findings, view the full report on Medscape: www.medscape.com/uk-social-issues-report-2022.