Female patient examining medical paperwork and using mobile phone while sitting in corridor … [+]
England’s waiting list for routine treatment has reached new heights, despite the best efforts of the country’s hospitals.
The country’s electoral list — which lists those eligible for procedures such as cataract surgery and hip replacements — grew to 7.42 million in April, official figures show published this week.
That’s an increase of about 3 million in February 2020 – before the pandemic – and a growth of about 25,000 in March 2023.
In the UK, most healthcare is provided by public hospitals, which send data on elective, emergency and cancer care to central authorities in each country.
The figure of 7.42 million is likely greater than the number of patients actually awaiting treatment in England, as some are counted more than once if they qualify for multiple forms of care.
Nevertheless, it is still a significant number for a country of 56 million people.
And it’s a figure that continues to grow despite major efforts to clear a backlog that was already accumulating before the pandemic.
An important focus for hospital leaders is not only reducing the total number of people waiting, but also the number of people who wait for care for a very long time.
Before Covid, it was rare for a significant number of patients to wait more than a year for elective treatment – the target was 18 weeks or less. As of February 2020, approximately 1,600 patients had waited at least 52 weeks for care.
With scheduled surgeries canceled and delayed as hospitals struggled to meet the emergency demands of the pandemic, many of these waiting times stretched well beyond a year.
At its peak in March 2021, more than 435,000 waiting times had passed the 52-week mark. In January 2022, there were almost 25,000 waiting times of two years or more.
Those very long waiting times have been significantly reduced despite numerous competitive challenges, such as increased demand, staff shortages, poor patient throughput by hospitals, and ongoing industrial action by unions claiming poor wages and working conditions prevent hospitals from hiring. and to keep.
The most recent data shows about 500 waits after more than two years in April, nearly 11,500 after 78 weeks or more and more than 370,000 after more than a year. Worryingly, every single group, except those waiting more than two years, has risen at least marginally since March.
Dr. Sarah Scobie, acting research director at think tank Nuffield Trust, said in a statement: “Despite a pledge to eliminate one-and-a-half year waits for patients for routine but often life-changing surgeries, the numbers grew 18 months or more in April.
“Even more concerning is the scale and speed at which the overall waiting list continues to grow, with nearly half a million patients in the past five months alone.”
While the effects of the pandemic on waiting time are clear, it is far from the only factor behind the overall number of waiters. Chronic staff shortages, crumbling care complexes and an aging and increasingly sick population all play a part in the numbers.
As research from the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation suggested last year, the pandemic has exacerbated existing pressures on the healthcare system.
Even without covid-19, the organizations estimate that the elective waiting list would still be five million last year.
Experts have called for more investment in staff, hospital buildings and equipment to support healthcare.
Saffron Cordery, deputy general manager of the NHS Providers trade association, said in a statement“Given the circumstances, trust leaders have made remarkable progress in reducing the longest waiting times for elective care, shortening the diagnostic waiting list and ensuring that more people are entering emergency treatment for cancer compared to a year ago.
“However, demand continues to outstrip capacity in the NHS, and it is not sustainable.”
She said hospital leaders needed action “at the national level” and called for the publication of a long-awaited full-cost staffing plan from the government.
“We also need a solution to the pay disputes between the government and the health unions,” she added. “It is vital that all parties resume negotiations without delay.”
