In their penultimate operational year Primary Care Trusts (PCT) in England increased spend on services commissioned from independent healthcare providers by 10.7%.
This compared to a 3.5% increase in total healthcare spending from NHS and non-NHS providers.
According to Laing and Buisson's NHS Financial Information 2013, total NHS spending on healthcare services supplied by the independent sector in England - covering private companies and voluntary organisations - was estimated at £5.9bn in 2011/2012.
This number is 6.5% of the £90.7bn total healthcare spending by PCTs in England during the period and marks growth from the £5.3bn spend in 2010/2011, then equivalent to 6.1% of total spending.
NHS Financial Information 2013 also reports total private patient income of NHS Trusts in the UK was £471m in 2011/2012, increasing by 5.3% from £448m in 2010/2011.
However, regional trends confirm that growth was stronger in London, with the Top 5 private earners (Royal Marsden, Royal Brompton & Harefield, Guy's & St Thomas, Moorfields, and King's College) seeing combined revenues climb by 15%.
Health and social service Trusts in Northern Ireland also reported strong growth (up 9.5%), but conversely, private patient income fell sharply for the NHS in Scotland (down 18%), and in Wales (down 8%).
