CAMPAIGNERS urged the government today to save money by investing directly in NHS services after a report revealed that private treatment of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is costing one health board “three times more” than its own equivalent. 

Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) found that the use of independent providers under “right to choose” rules was expected to have cost £3 million in 2024-25, according to a review obtained by the Health Service Journal (HSJ).

Under the rules, patients have the legal right to choose where they receive treatment, including at private providers that hold an NHS contract.

In the review of its community paediatric services, the ICB said that the costs were “up to three times more expensive than our local provision.”

While waiting lists nationwide continue to grow, the ICB said it would take “years, if not decades” to clear its own assessment backlog at current rates of progress.

It warned that any “national solution will almost certainly involve greater use of the independent provider market,” but that this was less cost effective than its commissioned services, the HSJ reported.

We Own It lead campaigner Johnbosco Nwogbo said: “Hundreds of thousands of patients across England are stuck on our years-long NHS mental health waiting lists and aren’t getting treatment because cash that should be used for treating them is being wasted on privatisation.

“Privatisation of autism and ADHD services is a clear area where significant savings can be made.”

He suggested that Health Secretary Wes Streeting could “invest directly in NHS services, like those in Northamptonshire, and save money, which can then be put toward treating more patients.”

We Own It said NHS outsourcing contracts made at least £10 million in profit from providing NHS services every week.

Mr Nwogbo added: “With the government’s 10-year health plan coming out in June, Wes Streeting has a historic opportunity to cut to the heart of the real waste in the NHS and begin ending NHS privatisation. 

“Continuing privatisation in the NHS would be a deeply ideological choice at a time when voters overwhelmingly want public services in public hands.”