Routine NHS-funded operations carried out by the private sector increase by over 10 percent between 2011 and 2012.

In explaining the increase the Department for Health has said that patients are increasingly employing private health care providers.

The health minister, Lord Howe, said “The crucial thing here is that patients have access to the highest quality services possible. Letting patients choose how and where they are treated is not new. We want to give patients more choice about where, when and how they can access their health services”.