One of the criticisms of private care in the UK has been that private providers are not required to produce sufficient information about their services to permit comparison with NHS services. It is suggested that surgery in private hospitals may be dangerous because of inadequate equipment, lack of intensive care beds, unsafe staffing arrangements, and poor medical record-keeping. In 2018 it was reported that about 7,000 patients were transferred to the NHS each year from private facilities due to a lack of facilities to deal with problems in the private sector. Staff who also work for the NHS may not be available for support when needed. Most private hospitals do not have an intensive care unit, so if it is needed an ambulance must be called.
