Responding to the latest NHS performance statistics from NHS England, Nuffield Trust Acting Director of Research Dr Sarah Scobie said:
“The sobering reality of NHS services struggling to help patients in need is once again apparent in today’s data, with 839,000 people joining the waiting list for planned care in the last year alone. The Prime Minister’s pledge to bring down NHS waits looks as challenging as ever to meet.
“It’s clear that there would have been more operations and appointments had the NHS strikes not taken place. But only a tiny fraction of the nearly 7.7 million people waiting in pain and distress would have started treatment without the strikes. Industrial action alone cannot be blamed for continued long waits – given that before the strikes began, the number of planned operations hadn’t yet recovered even to pre-pandemic levels, and it still hasn’t.”
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.
- 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