The number of people waiting to start NHS treatment in England has hit 6.78 million – rising by almost 200,000 in a single month, according to official data.
The latest data shows the number of patients awaiting the start of treatment at the end of June was up from 6.6 million at the end of May. It was at 4.44 million before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.
Of the 6.78 million, 355,774 patients were waiting more than 52 weeks, up from 331,623 at the end of May and 3,861 patients were waiting more than 104 weeks – down from and 8,028 over the same period.
For patients waiting to start treatment at the end of June 2022, the median waiting time was 13.3 weeks, up from 12.7 weeks at the end of May and up from 12.6 weeks at the end of April.
The latest weekly management information on the number waiting more than 104 weeks at the end of July (2,722) shows a decrease compared to the end of June (3,548).
This reduction in longer wait times reflects the work carried out as part of the NHS Elective Recovery Plan. Earlier this week, NHS England revealed it had made significant inroads in eliminating the longest waits for scans, checks, surgical procedures and other routine treatment.
The data showed there were more than 22,500 people who had been waiting two years or more at the start of the year, and a further 51,000 who would have breached two years by the end of July
Patients need to know their options
David Hare, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), once again called on the next prime minister to commit to a national campaign to make NHS patients aware of their legal right to choose different providers for their treatment.
“Recent IHPN research conducted with the Patients Association found that across England, patients need to travel just 13.2 miles – around 30 minutes by car – to cut over three and a half months off their NHS waiting time,” Hare said.
“The fact that patients report being willing to be treated at an alternative provider that can treat them more quickly – whether NHS or independent sector – should come as no surprise and the time has come for the government to make patient choice a reality for far more NHS patients.”
State of steady crisis
Richard Murray, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said the intense pressure on NHS and social care services had barely featured in the Conservative party leadership race.
“The new prime minister will inherit a health and care system in a state of steady crisis,” Murray said.
“Not long after Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak enters 10 Downing Street, winter will really start to bite and without urgent action we can expect ambulance delays to get even longer and more and more people to be stuck waiting in over-crowded A&E departments.
“The pressure on hospitals is symptomatic of pressure right across the health and care system. At the end of July, 13,014 people were still in hospital beds despite being medically fit to be discharged, often due to a lack of available social care support.
“The challenges affecting the NHS cannot be solved without addressing the issues in social care.”
Faint glimmer of light
But amid the “dire” statistics, Murray pointed to a “faint glimmer” of light.
“Thanks to the efforts of NHS staff, two-year waits for planned NHS care have been virtually eradicated and efforts will now be focused on hitting the April 2023 target of no patient waiting more than 18 months for care,” he added.
“However, this next phase will be much tougher, with just nine months to reduce the number of people waiting a year and a half for planned NHS care from 53,911 down to zero.
“Ensuring patients can access the care they need will require urgent and sustained action. If the next prime minister fails to prioritise action to shore up health and care services, they can expect the NHS and social care to slide even deeper into crisis.”