A large percentage of the British population would consider using private healthcare to avoid long waits on the National Health Service, according to a survey published today.
Research showed that 40 per cent of those questioned would think about going private to jump long queues - and of those, 84 per cent had no private medical insurance to fall back on.
The survey of 1,904 adults conducted in March by the Consumers' Association showed that most of the people who said they could go private were employed and from wealthier groups.