Information gaps in England’s independent healthcare sector

At the beginning of 2024, 7.6 million people were on NHS waiting lists in England.1 Politicians from both the Conservative and Labour parties have indicated they will continue to procure elective care services from the independent healthcare sector as a strategy to reduce NHS waiting lists.23 Additionally, privately funded admissions have grown steadily over the past two years.4 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) private healthcare investigation order in 2014 has helped improve reporting of activity to the Private Healthcare Information Network.56 However, we still do not have the information on workforce, hospital capacity, outpatient services, and prices required to understand the implications of greater independent healthcare sector activity on the healthcare workforce, demand for services, and healthcare quality.

Aligning workforce data collection between the NHS and the independent healthcare sector would facilitate effective workforce planning, covering aspects such as full time equivalents by specialty and working patterns. This is important because the NHS and the independent healthcare sector largely draw from the …