NHS England sees small drop in hospital waiting lists

THE total number of people waiting for consultant-led NHS hospital treatment in England has fallen for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 7.19 million on the list in November 2022 compared to 7.21 million in October.

NHS figures also show a record number of tests and checks delivered by NHS staff in November 2022 (2,172,150) – up 5.4 per cent from October 2022.

The most common long-waits seen were for trauma and orthopaedic treatment – such as hip and knee replacements (242,785 – 31 per cent), ear nose and throat treatment (60,891 – 11 per cent), or general surgery, such as gallbladder removals and hernia operations (108,197- 25 per cent).

Professor Neil Mortensen, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “There is a glimmer of good news in today’s data – thanks to the efforts of NHS staff, the number of long waits has come down. However, the total waiting list is still stuck at over 7 million. The task before us remains gargantuan.

“For those patients still on the lists, their lives, and sometimes livelihoods, remain on hold while they wait for their operation and the relief from pain that it will bring. In some areas, surgeons are telling us that they are dealing with more complex cases, more frequently, as patients’ conditions deteriorate while on long waiting lists.

“At the Prime Minister’s NHS Recovery Forum this weekend, I made the case again for more surgical hubs to be set up, as quickly as possible. While we welcome the Prime Minister’s renewed focus on waiting times, and extra funding to help discharge patients, the task of getting waiting times down to a reasonable level remains mammoth. The Government must look at where surgical hubs feature in the New Hospital Programme, and work with ICS’ to identify under-served parts of the country. Unless the Government moves fast on this, and the workforce plan it has promised, I fear the waiting list will take many years to bring down.”