Private hospitals were paid around £2bn to help the NHS during the first year of the covid pandemic. But an investigation by The BMJ has found that just 30 of the 200 private hospitals were used to treat patients with covid-19 in April 2020 when the first pandemic wave hit its peak.
Private hospitals massively underused in many areas of the UK during the pandemic
Private hospitals were paid around £2bn to help the NHS during the first year of the covid pandemic. But an investigation by The BMJ has found that just 30 of the 200 private hospitals were used to treat patients with covid-19 in April 2020 when the first pandemic wave hit its peak.