One year on: elective care recovery plan - our response
Twelve months ago, we welcomed an NHS plan to address the record waiting list for planned care which had built up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among targets to prioritise appointments for people waiting the longest, we highlighted the importance of giving people support while they wait, and the need to ensure any solutions focussed on people facing the worst health inequalities.
One year on, and the NHS has virtually eliminated all 104 week waits, while there is confidence about progress against their target for 78 week waits.
But the data on how long 92% of the list are waiting suggests that average waits for treatment will remain high for some time to come.
This average continued to rise despite huge reductions in the numbers of people waiting two years. And despite recent reductions from a high of 46.8 weeks, the long-term trend continues to point to long waits.
If this continues as we progress along the recovery plan, the NHS may struggle to meet upcoming targets, and patients will continue to miss their right to treatment within 18 weeks.
Latest data
The latest NHS data published today show that after improvements last month, the waiting list for routine NHS care has once again risen.
At the end of December, the waiting list was at 7.2 million hospital treatment, such as hip and knee replacements. This includes an estimated 51,156 waits of over 18 months.
And crucially, the average time for how long the 92% of those on the NHS lists have been waiting has once again risen to 46.3 weeks, from 45.3 weeks.
Responding, our national director Louise Ansari said:
“NHS staff have worked incredibly hard in the last year to bring the waiting list down, and to see those who had been waiting the longest.
As the focus now moves to people waiting more than 18 months, it’s vital we also look to the average time people are waiting for treatment.
While this remains high, NHS teams will need more help to support patients waiting for treatment. The impact of long waits on people’s mental health, their ability to work or care for others, and on the pain they live in can be enormous. And these issues particularly affect women, disabled people, those on lower incomes, and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
We must continue to reassure the public that the NHS is still there to help them, that they haven’t been forgotten and that the information and support they need are available. This means supporting and, where needed, hiring staff to manage the important data and administrative work involved in proactively supporting people on waiting lists. This will support current staff, while improving communication to patients and getting pain relief and mental health support to those who need it.”
