Responding to the latest NHS performance statistics from NHS England, Nuffield Trust Acting Director of Research Dr Sarah Scobie said:
“Today’s figures continue to illustrate a bumpy and difficult road ahead for the government and NHS to bring patient waiting times down. With now almost 7.6 million people waiting for treatment or routine operations, the Prime Minister’s pledge to bring these down looks even more out of reach.
“NHS staff are working flat out, and we are seeing more care being delivered in June, but the pace at which services can increase the number of patients they are seeing is not fast enough against ongoing demand. While new measures like more community diagnostics centres and patient choice are helpful, the underlying staff and resources to carry out the work can’t be rapidly ramped up overnight. Further strikes, including strikes by junior doctors starting again today, will also add to the pressure on services.
“Behind the focus on eliminating the longest wait for patients, we can see that the average time patients on the list have been waiting continues to grow to over 14 weeks as the volume of those needing care increases. All of this taken together suggests that patients will continue to face long waits for some considerable time.”
Notes to editors
- The latest monthly performance figures from NHS England can be found at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/
- The Nuffield Trust is an independent health think tank. We aim to improve the quality of health care in the UK by providing evidence-based research and policy analysis and informing and generating debate www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk
- For all queries or to arrange an interview, contact: Simon Keen: 07780 475571 / simon.keen@nuffieldtrust.org.uk; or Eleanor Martin: 07920 043676 / eleanor.martin@nuffieldtrust.org.uk