Overcrowded hospitals are forcing Britons to travel abroad for treatment

LondonThe British public's trust in Downing Street's actions is going down the drain. Meanwhile, citizens across the islands fear an income tax hike in just two weeks that would betray... one of Labour's key election promisesAnd while this could cause a political earthquake, another highly sensitive issue, the NHS, the National Health Service, is still struggling to recover and significantly reduce waiting lists. In July, 7.41 million patients, only 200,000 fewer than a year earlier, were still waiting for treatment. The five-day strike that resident doctors in English hospitals—both in emergency and non-emergency care—are starting this Friday will not improve the situation either. And one of the consequences of these delays is that last year, more than half a million residents of the islands (523,000, according to the Office for National Statistics) traveled abroad for medical treatment. This figure represents a 50.1% increase in just two years.

Former Unison trade unionist Dennis Reed, of the NGO Silver Voices, an elderly support group, calls the situation a "tragedy driven by desperation." Many patients, Reed says, are using their savings to get treatments they can't get in time through the NHS. These include hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, and dental work. "People on modest incomes will increasingly look for cheap alternatives if they face long waits, perhaps in pain, and can't afford private healthcare" in the UK, he says.

The most popular destinations for this new medical tourism These include Turkey, Poland, Romania, Portugal, India, Lithuania, and Italy. In Turkey, a hip replacement can cost only between £6,000 and £8,000 (less than €10,000), half the price of an operation in a private clinic in the UK. Advertising centers abroad via the internet is a common way to attract clients. In some cases, these clients must have significant purchasing power. This is the case with the website. Tailor Doc, which offers hip and knee replacement at the Vithas Valencia 9 de Octubre hospital and "recovery stays in a luxury residence in Denia", for prices that can range from 10,000 euros, in the simplest cases, to 60,000 euros, in the most complex.

Health experts—and Reed also comments on this—warn of the serious risks associated with these practices. The fundamental reason is the highly variable regulation of clinics, especially if they are located outside the European Union. Post-operative follow-up and the management of potential complications become a challenge when the treatment has been carried out thousands of miles away. In the worst cases, if there are unwanted side effects, the NHS does not necessarily guarantee treatment in the UK.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has repeatedly lamented this situation, calling it "appalling" that hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are forced to travel abroad for medical care that should be free in their own country. Ten days ago, Streeting defended the government's handling of the situation, noting that, although "there is still a long way to go," Labour has delivered more than five million additional medical appointments and reduced waiting lists by 206,000 in its first year in government.

A stuck accelerator?

And this past Wednesday, he stated on BBC television: "We are now stepping on the gas and cutting unnecessary red tape to reinvest the savings in frontline care." However, the most recent data shows that waiting lists have increased for the third consecutive month since July 2025. Critical voices about the state of the NHS are periodically heard in various media outlets, despite the promised £29 billion investment. David Hare, for example, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (the private healthcare trade association), noted at the end of October that "with NHS waiting lists continuing at near-record levels, it is not surprising that many thousands of people are exploring all their treatment options." Such a promised investment does not offer any prospect of improvement.

Health Minister Streeting has promised that his upcoming 10-year health plan will "catapult the NHS into the 21st century and ensure that people receive timely, modern healthcare on British soil."

Do the British believe him? Perhaps. But it doesn't do the health minister any favors when he appears, as has happened this week, as the great conspirator against Prime Minister Keir Starmer. On Wednesday, the entire national press published a preemptive attack against the minister, orchestrated from Downing Street, warning him that any attempt at a coup within the party itself would be met with fierce resistance from its leader.

A claim that, moreover, sounds increasingly far-fetched. Because Starmer seems to be getting weaker by the day. And if he manages to overcome the budget hurdle on November 26, the final blow could come from... the local and national elections next May, when the far-right Reformist Party is expected to achieve its best results ever. It's no coincidence that Nigel Farage is leading in the pollsAnd as usual, the trickle of negative data – not only about the NHS; also about unemployment, which reached 5% in September – is being exploited by far-right demagogues to undermine a government already on the brink.