For whose benefit? NHS England’s contract with the private hospital sector in the first year of the pandemic

For whose benefit? NHS England’s contract with the private hospital sector in the first year of the pandemic This report analyses the government’s use of the private hospital sector in England as a strategy for alleviating the burden on the NHS during the first year of the Covid 19 pandemic. It uses publicly available information to examine the nature of the contracts between the NHS and the private sector, the potential costs of these contracts and the extent to which NHS patients benefitted from this approach. The research shows that none of the goals outlined for the deal were achieved to a significant extent. Almost no Covid patients were treated in the private sector and NHS funded activity in the private sector fell significantly, and much further than in NHS trusts. Centre for Health and the Public Interest