According to research based on audited accounts from primary Care Trusts, since 2011 there has been a significant increase in the private provision of NHS-funded community and mental healthcare. The Nuffield Trust reported that in 2012-2013, commissioners outsourced £1 in every £5 to private providers which represented an annual increase of 34%. The research went on to show that from 2011/12 to 2012/13, funding for independent mental healthcare services increased by 15%, however funding for NHS-provided mental healthcare fell by 1% in this period.

NHS told to learn from the high street and to privatise