Record High 6.5 million People Waiting For Hospital Treatment

The latest NHS figures have shown that almost 6.5 million people in England are waiting for hospital treatment – more than double the amount in April 2012.

The figures suggest that approximately one in nine people are waiting for hospital treatment, such as knee and hip replacements and eye surgery. One in twenty of these have been waiting for over a year.

This is concerning considering how a delay in such treatment can be detrimental to patients and their families, both physically and mentally. For example, approximately 100,000 people with serious heart problems are enduring long waits for potentially life-saving NHS care. The British Heart Foundation warns that some of these patients will die of a heart attack as a consequence of the “dangerous” long delays.

The latest figures also further illustrate the struggles of cancer services.

The lack of treatment capacity is evidenced by 35% of patients waiting for more than the targeted time of two months.

Further increases in hospital treatment waiting times

As NHS staff have worked tremendously hard throughout the pandemic, further challenges lie ahead as more people return to the NHS as Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, explains more people who avoided NHS care during the pandemic are now belatedly seeking medical attention. The need for more NHS staff is clear and evidenced by ministers warning that the waiting list could continue to increase until 2024.

Comment

NHS staff continue to work tirelessly throughout these unprecedented and challenging times but face further challenges due to the lack of capacity to cope with the increased pressure evidenced by these latest statistics. It is becoming increasingly obvious with each set of statistics released that the NHS continues to be understaffed and staff could suffer burnout as a result. It is with paramount importance that the Government help the NHS before these figures continue to rise even more than they already have.