NHS spent more than £2bn on private mental health hospitals last year

The NHS spent more than £2bn on sending patients to private psychiatric units last year, following decades of cuts to beds, new analysis reveals.

- REBECCA THOMAS

The huge sum spent on private mental health hospitals in 2023 was a £279m increase on the year before.

A report by healthcare consultants Laingbuisson, shared exclusively with The Independent, said the lack of beds within the NHS is a major driver of spending on private hospitals, warning healthcare leaders are “stuck between a rock and a hard place”.

The two biggest private providers, Priory Group and Cygnet Health Care, generated £509m and £560m in revenue last year. They account for more than 68 per cent of the market, according to the report.

Almost £200m was spent on private children’s hospitals by the NHS in the same year, figures show. The news follows a series of reports by The Independent exposing abuse within private hospitals such as those run by Cygnet Health Care and the former Huntercombe Group.