A SURGE in patients paying for their own treatment has led to "exceptional" growth in revenue for an independent hospital group.

Spire Healthcare, which runs 40 private hospitals in the UK - including the Spire Murrayfield and Shaw Fair Park facilities in Edinburgh - generated £1.1 billion in revenue last year "driven by significant demand for private treatment".

This was up 20 per cent year-on-year.

Pre-tax losses also shrank, from £231 million in 2020, to £1.9m last year.

Revenue from patients funding their own operations and other procedures - known as "self-pay" - soared by 115% compared to 2020, and now accounts for 26.4% of the group's total revenue compared to 18.2% in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

Publishing its preliminary results today, the group noted that there is "unprecedented demand for healthcare" as a result of NHS waiting list backlogs, adding that a growing number of people investing in self-pay is "expected to continue to deliver growth".

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It stated that it had "delivered record growth in private patient revenues in 2021" and expects to see "continued strong growth in 2022", adding: "We are in particular encouraged by the significantly higher level of private enquiries received during the year to date compared to recent years.

"We anticipate that the NHS will continue to be an important contributor to revenue while growing modestly."

Justin Ash, chief executive officer for Spire Healthcare, said the pandemic "has driven a fundamental shift in the private healthcare sector, shown by Spire’s strong self-pay performance".

He added: “Increasing awareness of private healthcare and record waiting lists have led more people to prioritise their health and choose to use independent providers.

"We remain focused on providing the highest quality of care and patient safety in our hospitals, while increasing returns to shareholders. We look to the future with confidence and optimism.”

It comes after figures compiled by the Herald revealed that the number of people waiting over two years on NHS Scotland waiting lists for an inpatient or day case procedure had soared from round 150 pre-Covid to more than 5000 - equivalent to one in 20 patients on the lists - by the end of December 2021.

Although Spire Healthcare was unable to provide a breakdown of revenues specifically for Scotland, figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) - an umbrella body for the indepedent sector - have previously shown a 48% increase in the number of patients in Scotland self-funding inpatient procedures, from 2,300 in April to June 2019 to 3,400 during the same period in 2021.

The next set of data, up to September 2021, will be published on March 8.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government also spent £34.7 million between April 2020 and December 2021 sending 7,256 NHS patients for treatment - such as cancer operations or scans - at six private hospitals in Scotland, including Spire Murrayfield.

This represents around 0.5% of the total Scottish health budget. In comparison, England spends around 7% of its health budget on the private sector.

READ MORE: One in 20 patients on operation waiting lists for over two years 

Nine Spire Healthcare hospitals were turned into cancer hubs leased by the NHS during the pandemic in order to provide treatment in so-called "Covid-free" environments, because independent hospitals were not admitting emergency patients or treating patients specifically for Covid.

To date, 365,000 NHS patients have been treated at Spire Healthcare facilities since April 2020, said the group.

It also credited its first ever television advertising campaign - launched in the second quarter of 2021 - for helping to "improve awareness of the Spire brand and drive self-pay growth".

The group's financial update also noted that Covid had impacted on turnover as a result of "severe challenges around staff and consultant absences and increased patient cancellation rates" caused by the emergence of the more transmissible Delta and Omicron variants during 2021 and a self-isolation "pingdemic".

It added: "Whilst Covid-19 self-isolation restrictions have now been lifted in the UK, Spire Healthcare and the healthcare sector will still need to maintain a Covid-secure environment. Accordingly, many Covid-19 costs will continue through 2022.

"There may be possible upside if Covid-19 prevalence reduces leading to fewer cancellations and staff absences."