A private hospital is a hospital owned by a for-profit company or a non-profit organisation and privately funded through payment for medical services by patients themselves, by insurers, or by foreign embassies. This practice is very common in the United States and Australia. In the United Kingdom, private hospitals are distinguished from the far more prevalent National Health Service institutions. The Spire and Nuffield Hospital groups are two leading operators of private hospitals in the UK with locations around the country.