NHS England’s annual accounts show that NHS commissioners’ spending on private healthcare were up 27% to more than £18bn in 2020-21, with pandemic effects causing it to rise faster than spend on NHS trusts and general practice.
The accounts show a year-on-year growth in cash terms of £3.9bn in 2020-21, taking the total to £18.4bn spent on healthcare from non-NHS bodies. It grew by a larger share than total NHS commissioner spending, having grown more slowly in all of the past few years, according to the accounts.
The accounts show that spending by NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (which together fund all NHS care) on NHS trusts and foundation trusts was up 20% in cash terms in 2020-21, compared to the previous year. Spending on general practice was up 14%, although this measure may not account for additional funding going into GP practices outside of their standard contracts.
Full story in the HSJ, 7 February 2022
