The NHS has warned that waiting lists could swell to “unprecedented levels” over the next year as a direct results of the coronavirus pandemic.
The head of the NHS Confederation Danny Mortimer has warned that there has was a 30 per cent drop in the number of patients being referred for treatment from 2019 and 2020. As a result there could be a ‘hidden’ waiting list of up to six million patients who need treatment later this year.
These are patients that do not currently appear on the waiting list statistics. In December 2020 there were an estimated 4.6m patients waiting for treatment on the NHS. Many of these were for ‘non-emergency’ operations such as knee or hip replacements.
Mortimer says that if two-thirds of these patients join the waiting list this could increase to 8m by October 2021. He warned that without new investment from the government patients might have to wait months – or in some cases years – for treatment.
Speaking to the Independent newspaper, he said that it would take “many years” to recover the waiting list position to where the NHS would like it to be.
This issue has been highlighted by a number of private medical insurers. Many are expecting a large increase in claims this year as these try to catch up on elective procedures that were postponed during the first Covid lockdown, when resources were given over to the NHS to help the pandemic.
In addition to this many are anticipating increased demand from those who find themselves on long waiting lists for NHS treatment.