Waiting times for treatment continue to fall below NHS targets
NHS waiting lists for consultant-led care, including operations, are at the highest levels since 2007. That’s according to a November 2022 House of Commons report compiling key NHS statistics.
According to the report, the Covid-19 pandemic caused waiting lists to grow at a record rate. Over seven million people were on the referral to treatment list in September 2022. Up from just over four and a half million in early 2020.
Consultant led referral to treatment waiting times have increased since the beginning of last decade, growing 74% between 2012 and 2019.
The amount of time patients are waiting to be seen has also increased with the 18-week treatment target remaining unmet since 2016. As of September 2022, just over 400,000 people were waiting over a year for treatment.
Specifically, GP cancer referrals more than doubled to 8000 per day in the last decade. The target of 93% of patients receiving a consultation appointment within two weeks has reached a record low of 75%. The target has not been met since 2018.
Treatment for cancer should begin within 62 days of the initial GP referral, currently sitting at almost 60% of patients starting treatment within this time.
Before the pandemic an average of 45,000 treatments across England were performed each day. Of those 10,000 were admitted to hospital. Compared to September 2019, September 2022 saw the NHS carry out 6% fewer admitted treatments (-569 per day) and 3% fewer non-admitted treatments (-1,273 per day).
To clear the backlog the NHS needs more staff. Across the NHS the workforce has increased with the number of doctors up by 14% and the number of nurses up 11% since 2019. However, in this year alone the number of vacant positions also increased from 7.6% to 9.7%.
Pressures across the NHS have been getting worse since 2012 and continue to worsen. With demand increasing and staff numbers refusing to keep up the quality and speed of care for patients may suffer in the months and years to come.
