The FT has suggested that the NHS is in the process of boosting its private practices in order to tackle insufficient funding, offering a number of examples where this is currently taking place both in the UK and abroad.

In the UK, state-owned King’s College Hospital is expanding private wards at its Denmark Hill site in London, while overseas it is showcasing treatments for cirrhosis, diabetes and other liver conditions across the Middle East.

Ted Townsend, analyst at LaingBuisson, told the FT that, in his opinion, selling private care alone will not sufficiently transform the NHS’s finances. “It is still a small proportion of their income overall, although it is growing,” he said. “But some hospitals still do not believe that servicing private patients should be part of their remit.”

In 2014, a report compiled by six different NHS bodies found that the NHS budget will face an annual shortfall to the tune of £30 billion by the end of this parliament if practices are not radically improved.

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