NHS doctors offered up to £5,000 to recruit colleagues for private hospitals

US-owned HCA Healthcare, which runs more than 30 facilities in London and Manchester, is spending tens of thousands of pounds recruiting NHS-trained doctors.

The money is offered for staff who go on to work for HCA part- or full-time, meaning they either leave the NHS or reduce the hours they work in the public health service.

Other perks include critical illness cover of up to 10,000 after a year of service, 50% off gym membership and dining out, life insurance and access to private GPs as needed.

We are recruiting in the range 60-75k (for full-time 1.0FTE), and at the moment we have a Golden Hello Scheme.

At the end of November, a record 7.2 million patients in England were waiting for elective care.

More than half of those on the list had been waiting up to 18 weeks.