Private patient numbers double amid NHS Wales troubles

Mark Exworthy, a professor of health policy at Birmingham University, said long waiting lists were a major factor behind the rise, but not the only one.

“It may be a sign of changing attitudes and changing expectations of what the NHS can deliver in a timely manner,” he said.

He also said the private medical sector was changing the way it advertised to prospective customers.

“They’re trying to recruit people for out-of-pocket spending rather than signing them up to longer-term insurance plans,” said Prof Exworthy.

“People are tending to pay out of pocket, whether that’s from their own savings or their month-to-month spending.

“That has huge implications for health inequalities as to who is able to afford these.”

In a statement, the Welsh government said: “Long waits for ophthalmology have almost halved since their peak in April 2022 but we know there is more to do.

“Part of this work is the establishment of a regional cataract service, which will urgently reduce waiting times.”