Scottish election claims fact-checked

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s claim that 40% of hip and knee replacements are being done privately is correct – the figure comes from Public Health Scotland, external.

In 2022 in Scotland, 11,175 hip and knee operations took place, of which about 4,600 were carried out at private hospitals.

Data from the Private Healthcare Information Network, external (PHIN) shows that more than 3,000 hip replacements and 1,500 knee replacements were carried out privately last year.

That is either through patients self-funding their care or through insurance claims.

2023 saw record levels of private admissions (up 11% on the previous year).

The Nuffield Trust says, external in Scotland, there has been an 80% rise over the past five years in people paying out of their own pocket for healthcare.

However, the increase was higher in Wales (up 124%) – where Labour run the devolved administration which controls the health service – and in Northern Ireland (218%).

England – where the health service has been under the control of the Conservatives – saw a rise of 20%.

Relative to its population, England continues to have the highest number of patients going private.

This suggests that wherever you live in the UK, growing numbers of patients are taking matters into their own hands and paying for healthcare to avoid long waits on the NHS.

Labour has said if it were in government it would make use of “spare capacity” in the private sector to cut NHS waiting lists in England (NHS funding would be directed to private providers so it remains free for patients).

But organisations including the Nuffield Trust have questioned whether the overall health budget will increase enough to make the recovery Labour are promising achievable.

Because health is devolved, it is up to the Scottish government to decide how to spend its budget and the SNP – who are in power at Holyrood – say they oppose further privatisation.