In her consulting room, Dr Yvonne Girgis-Hanna is at work as a GP, but not for the NHS. She is one of an increasing number of family doctors opting to practise privately. "I could not work as a full‑time NHS GP," she says. "The days I do in the NHS, the next day I'm totally wiped out... You might have 30 face‑to‑face contacts, then extra telephone calls and paperwork. You just don't have time to even go to the toilet." BBC analysis of Care Quality Commission (CQC) data shows the number of doctors registering to practise outside the NHS has risen sharply. And a 2024 report by healthcare business‑intelligence company LaingBuisson estimated that 13% of GP consultations were private, up from 3% two decades earlier. So why are more doctors opting to work outside the NHS – and why are patients prepared to pay to see them? In the five years to the end of 2025, the CQC received 1,238 new registrations for "independent consulting doctors" in England, compared with 396 in the previous five years – a 212% increase.…