Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) appointments, (2) tests, and (3) operations, were delivered by independent providers for NHS patients in 2024–25.

Independent sector providers have a role to play in supporting the National Health Service as trusted partners to recover elective services by using additional capacity to tackle the backlog whilst delivering value for money.

Independent sector providers delivered 5,098,290 outpatient appointments in 2024/25. This includes first and follow-up appointments.

They delivered 2,099,923 tests in 2024/25. This includes only the 15 key diagnostic tests that form the Diagnostics Waiting Times and Activity dataset and excludes activity subcontracted from NHS trusts where responsibility for the pathway remains with the NHS trust.

There were 986,480 inpatient admissions in independent sector providers in 2024/25. This includes ordinary electives and day case electives.