The number of people on the NHS England waiting list for treatment neared a new record 7.7 million for the first time in July.
This was up by more than 100,000 people from the 7,574,649 million people as of the end of June.
Of the 7,679,851 people awaiting treatment, in 389,952 cases the patient was waiting more than a year, in 96,722 cases they were waiting more than 65 weeks, in 7,289 cases they were waiting more than 78 weeks, and in 277 cases they were waiting more than two years.
At the end of July 2023, 58.6% of patients waiting to start treatment were waiting up to 18 weeks so were not meeting the 92% standard.
For patients waiting to start treatment at the end of July 2023, the median waiting time was 14.1 weeks.
NHS can no longer guarantee health of staff
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at independent consultancy Broadstone, predicted the backlog will inevitably translate into more missed diagnoses, serious illness and sickness absence as people struggle to access the treatment they need to stay fit, healthy and in work.
“The parlous state of the public health service is reflected in this week’s private health statistics which showed the highest ever recorded quarterly level of admissions in Q1 2023,” Hill continued. “The growth is primarily being driven by insured admissions which are largely arranged through people’s employer.
“It is evidence of the growing responsibility businesses are shouldering when it comes to the nation’s health.
“Companies recognise the NHS can no longer guarantee the health of their staff, so investing in private healthcare options has become mission-critical to the operations and productivity of their business.”
Short term thinking running the NHS into the ground
According to Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The King’s Fund, continued industrial action, including next week’s unprecedented combined junior doctors and consultants strike, will hinder the NHS’s ability to clear this backlog.
“The Prime Minister made tackling waiting lists one of his key priorities, but the longer industrial action rumbles on, the less likely that ambition will be met,” Anandaciva added.
“The real question is how the NHS got to this point and therefore how it gets out of its current cycle. Under successive governments, short-term thinking has slowly run the NHS into the ground, with ministers instead opting for quick fixes to patch up major problems,” he continued.
“Today’s announcement of £200m more funding to boost winter capacity in the NHS is welcome, but to free up beds and staff in hospitals, there needs to be a fundamental focus on bolstering capacity in community and primary care settings as well as social care reform.
“The impact of widespread ill health and the parlous state of the National Health Service will be a key battleground in the upcoming general election.
“Any government that is serious about reversing the decline in NHS performance will need to think long term about improving people’s access to out-of-hospital care, making health and social care a more attractive career, and tackling the biggest risk factors affecting people’s health.”
