Patients paying for treatment in West Suffolk have given £200,000 to one hospital, a Freedom of Information request has found. 

The East Anglian Daily Times report:

HOSPITAL bosses have denied that well-heeled patients are being allowed to jump the queue for treatment after new figures revealed the trust received more than £200,000 from ‘self-funding’ individuals.

Under the system, which is available at many UK hospitals, patients who are not eligible for certain types of care can pay for a wide range of non-emergency treatments, from bone scans to the removal of urinary tract stones.

The treatment is described as self-funded rather than private, as the care provided is the same as on the NHS and is paid for by the individual rather than by insurance.

You can read the full story here. 

Matthew Burgess
http://www.mattburgess.co
I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.