Nuffield Trust: Some medical specialties hit particularly hard as NHS waiting list tops 7 million

Responding to the latest monthly NHS performance figures from NHS England, Nuffield Trust Research Fellow, Jessica Morris said:

“With 7 million people now waiting for planned NHS treatment – equivalent to one in eight people in England – today’s figures show pressure ratcheting up even more on the health service as we approach the busiest time of the year. As access to receive timely care decays, some groups of patients are particularly being shut out and face months of pain or disability with little hope of treatment. Patients waiting for ear, nose and throat treatment face the longest waits on average, with only just over half of people getting an appointment within 18 weeks. Meanwhile, over 58 thousand people have been waiting over a year for trauma and orthopaedic services.

“The latest dire A&E figures come even as the number of people arriving is still lower than it once was before the Covid-19 pandemic. A&E waiting times are the worst since records began, with three in 10 people waiting longer than four hours to be admitted, transferred or discharged. Waits for cancer treatment and diagnostic tests are also continuing to deteriorate. We can create a more productive NHS in the long term by turning around the long under-investment in staff, buildings and equipment, but realistically we are still in the beginning of a very difficult time indeed.”