The NHS in Scotland has spent £70 million on sending patients for treatment in the private sector, Freedom of Information requests have revealed.
The Scottish Herald report:
THE Scottish NHS has spent more than £70 million sending patients for treatment in the private sector in the past two years, new figures show.
Massive variation in the amount paid by different health boards has been exposed by the data obtained using the Freedom of Information Act (FoI).
Health boards tend to send patients to private hospitals for procedures when they are struggling to treat them within official waiting times guarantees.