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Category: NHS England

  • People wait longer than expected for an ambulance as hospital waiting list exceeds six million

    The time people spend waiting for an ambulance has risen across England as the overall waiting list exceeds 6 million, according to new figures. Data from NHS England shows that people with potentially life-threatening conditions are sometimes waiting twice as long as they should be for an ambulance compared to national targets.

    It comes as the waiting list for NHS hospital treatment continues to rise to record levels, with 6.1 million people on the list at the end of January.

    Ambulance response times get worse

    The NHS also continues to miss a raft of targets relating to cancer and how long people wait in A&E. The new data shows that the average response time last month for ambulances dealing with the most urgent incidents – defined as people with life-threatening illnesses such as cardiac arrest – was eight minutes and 51 seconds, compared to a seven-minute target, and up from eight minutes 31 seconds the month before.

    Meanwhile, ambulances in England took an average of 42 minutes and seven seconds last month to respond to emergency calls, such as burns, epilepsy and strokes, up from 38 minutes and four seconds in January and more than double the 18-minute target.

    Response times for urgent calls – such as late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes – averaged two hours, 16 minutes and 13 seconds, up from one hour, 56 minutes and 52 seconds in January. The target states that 90% of calls should be reached within two hours.

    It’s also happening with waiting lists

    When it comes to the overall waiting list, the number of people having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at 311,528 in January, up from 310,813 in the previous month and 2% higher than the number in January 2021.

    A total of 23,778 people were also waiting more than two years to start hospital treatment at the end of January, up from 20,065 at the end of December. This is around nine times the 2,608 people who were waiting longer than two years in April 2021.

    Meanwhile, the proportion of patients in England seeing a specialist within two weeks if their GP suspects they have cancer fell to its lowest level on record in January, when Omicron cases were high. Some 202,816 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in January but only 75% had their first consultant appointment within two weeks, the lowest percentage in records going back to October 2009.

    The figures also showed that 63.8% of patients urgently referred by GPs for suspected cancer in England in January were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days, the lowest percentage so far. The NHS has a new goal that 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their GP for suspected cancer are diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days by March 2024.

    Elsewhere, nearly 435,000 people in England had been waiting more than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in January, such as an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy – 30% of the total waiting list. The equivalent number waiting for more than six weeks in January 2021 was 377,651 while in January 2020 it was 46,319.

    Just 73.3% of patients in England were also seen within four hours at A&Es in February, though the number waiting 12 hours or more for a bed has dropped.

    Surgery waiting times and tests

    The Royal College of Surgeons of England said the data shows the longest surgery waits are for operations such as hip and knee replacements (5,538), followed by general surgery such as gallbladder removals and hernia operations (2,874), followed by ear, nose and throat treatment (3,036).

    Its vice president, Tim Mitchell, said:

    If someone is left waiting years for a planned hip or knee operation, for example, it’s not surprising they will now be struggling to walk or work.

    We must find a way to get these patients treated, even if it means paying for them to travel to a part of the country that’s less afflicted, or paying for treatment in the independent sector.

    NHS England said the data showed that the NHS delivered 280,000 more diagnostic tests and checks in January compared to the same month last year.

    It also said the number of people starting treatment “remained high” with more than 25,000 people beginning treatment in January, while annual data showed more than 2.6 million people were checked for cancer from January 2021 to January 2022 – an increase of over half a million compared to the year before, at the height of the Covid pandemic.

    Coronavirus – Thu Nov 12, 2020
    NHS National Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis (Leon Neal/PA)

    NHS staff still “are determined”

    NHS national medical director, Professor Stephen Powis, said:

    Despite ongoing pressures our hardworking NHS staff delivered 280,000 more tests and checks for patients in January compared to the same time last year, and almost 1.24 million started consultant-led treatment, as more people continue to come forward for care who may have been reluctant to seek help during the pandemic.

    Staff across the country are determined to address the Covid-19 backlogs that inevitably built up throughout the pandemic, and while that cannot happen overnight, these figures show that through initiatives like one stop shops, Super Saturdays and high-intensity theatre lists, we are delivering more care for patients compared to the same time last year.

    As we have said throughout the pandemic and as these figures show, it is vital that anyone who has health concerns comes forward so that staff can help you with the best options for your care.

    Featured image via – Flickr – Northern Ireland Office – (resized to 770 x 403 pixels)

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • NHS waiting lists at record high amid ‘unsustainable’ pressure

    The number of people on NHS waiting lists in England is at a new record high. And health service leaders warn that the system is buckling under pressure.

    Data from NHS England shows 5.8 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of September. That’s the highest number since records began in August 2007.

    The number of people having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at 300,566 in September. It went up from 292,138 in the previous month and has more than doubled over the past year. The number waiting in September 2020 was 139,545.

    HEALTH NHS
    (PA Graphics)

    Intolerable pressure

    It came as the NHS Confederation warned that hospitals are facing intolerable pressure even before the full impact of winter. Meanwhile ambulance trusts are failing to get to 999 calls on time, leaving some people with no care for hours.

    All ambulance trusts in England are currently on a high level of alert and are under significant strain.

    They’re missing targets for responding to calls, with the longest average response times since current monthly records began in August 2017.

    The latest data for October shows that the average response time for ambulances dealing with the most urgent Category 1 incidents was nine minutes and 20 seconds. That’s compared with a target of seven minutes. Category 1 incidents are defined as life-threatening illnesses or injuries such as a cardiac arrest.

    Ambulances in England also took an average of 53 minutes and 54 seconds in October to respond to Category 2 calls i.e. burns, epilepsy and strokes. This is up from 45 minutes and 30 seconds in September, and nowhere near the 18-minute target.

    Meanwhile response times for ‘urgent calls’ averaged three hours, nine minutes and 58 seconds. These can be for late stages of labour, non-severe burns and diabetes.

    This is up from two hours, 35 minutes and 45 seconds in September. And again it’s the longest average since current records began.

    Don’t delay seeking help

    NHS England said 999 services had their busiest ever month in October as staff answered a record 1,012,143 calls.

    It also said major A&Es treated more than 1.4 million people during October. This was the highest ever for the month and third highest of all time.

    Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director said:

    With the highest number of 999 calls ever answered for a single month, the busiest October on record for major A&E, and the rollout of boosters as part of the successful NHS vaccination programme, there is no doubt pressure on the health service remains incredibly high…

    Increasing numbers are coming forward for treatment and this is expected to go up, but it remains really important people do not delay seeking help from the NHS if they feel unwell.

    Unsustainable

    Earlier, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that health leaders found the situation they now face “unsustainable”. A survey of more than 450 leaders across all parts of the health service found nine out of 10 felt this way. They also felt that patient care is being compromised.

    Tim Gardner, senior fellow at the Health Foundation, said of the new data:

    With waiting lists at an all-time high, millions of patients and staff are feeling the impact of a health system struggling to cope with demand.

    The Government has said that the NHS is under ‘sustainable pressure’, but it would be extraordinary to look at what’s happening in the NHS right now and claim that it is sustainable.

    There are multiple factors which are already impacting patient care – delays to cancer treatment and routine operations, record high waits for ambulances and in A&E, high demand for GP appointments and an overstretched workforce exhausted by the pandemic – all of which are reflected in today’s figures.

    That we are facing pressures this significant before we have reached the peak of winter is concerning, particularly as cases of seasonal viruses and rising staff absences are likely to add further pressure.

    “Their lives are effectively on hold”

    The new NHS data shows nearly 370,000 patients in England had been waiting more than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in September. Pre-pandemic in September 2019, the number waiting more than 6 weeks was 38,802.

    The NHS England figures also showed 231,421 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in September. That’s up 15% from the 201,013 reported in September 2020.

    The equivalent figure for September 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 195,196.

    Commenting on the long waits for surgery, Fiona Myint, vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said:

    Lengthening delays and cancellations are becoming a source of frustration for patients in constituencies across the length and breadth of the country.

    Their lives are effectively on hold, waiting for planned surgery on hips and knees.

    Surgical procedures to treat aneurysms and prevent heart attacks are also affected.

     

     

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • NHS waiting list hits new record high

    The number of people in England waiting for hospital treatment has reached a new record high. A total of 5.6 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of July, according to new figures from NHS England.

    This is the highest number since records began in August 2007 and includes those waiting for hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery. The number having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at 293,102 in July 2021, down from 304,803 in the previous month, but more than three times the number waiting a year earlier, in July 2020, which was 83,203.

    It hasn’t been this bad in 15 years

    Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The King’s Fund, said:

    Despite the best efforts of NHS staff, waiting lists for routine NHS care have swollen to levels last seen 15 years ago.

    There are over 5.6 million people waiting for care already, often in pain and dealing with the uncertainty of when they will be treated.

    All NHS services are affected, with primary care, hospital care and mental health services seeing the demand for care rise as the immediate threat of Covid-19 recedes.

    Even before Covid-19, waiting lists for treatment had substantially worsened.

    The significant investment the government has now promised is very welcome but will not lead to an increase the number of hospital beds or clinical staff overnight.

    The prime minister is right to warn the public that waiting lists will get worse before they get better.

    To deliver on his promise to cut the backlog, the government now needs to back the investment it has provided with a plan to ensure the NHS gets the staff it needs.

    Health secretary Sajid Javid has said he was warned the NHS waiting list could reach 13 million without immediate action as he pledged to tackle growing numbers.

    Data over the last few years

    The data shows the total number of people admitted for routine treatment in hospitals in England in July 2021 was 259,642, up 82% from a year earlier (142,818), although this reflects lower-than-usual figures for July 2020, which were affected by the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The equivalent figure for July 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 314,280.

    NHS England said many more tests and treatments have been delivered this summer compared to last, while hospitals cared for thousands more patients with Covid.

    It said there were 3.9 million diagnostic tests and 2.6 million patients started consultant-led treatment in June and July, compared with 2.7 million tests and 1.6 million treatments over the same time last year.

    This came as the number of Covid patients in hospital grew from under 800 at the start of June to more than 5,000 at the end of July.

    There are now more than 6,300 Covid patients in hospital, compared with fewer than 600 this time last year.

    The waiting room in a hospital (Andrew Milligan/PA)
    The waiting room in a hospital (Andrew Milligan/PA)

    “NHS staff have pulled out all the stops”

    NHS England also pointed to data showing that almost half a million people were checked for cancer in June and July, among the highest numbers on record.

    Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said:

    NHS staff have pulled out all the stops to deliver millions more tests, checks, treatments and operations than they did last summer despite caring for many more Covid patients.

    Caring for 450,000 patients with the virus has inevitably had a knock-on effect on less urgent care and left a backlog but staff are working around the clock to make the best possible use of Government investment to treat as many people as possible.

    We do not know how many of those who held back from accessing care during the pandemic still need treatment, but we expect more to come forward in the coming months, and I urge anyone who needs the NHS to come forward, including through NHS 111 online so that staff can help you with the best option for your care.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • NHS waiting list in England could soar to 14 million as staffing and pay issues persist

    The NHS waiting list in England could rise to 14 million by autumn 2022 and keep increasing, a new report warns.

    Millions of patients didn’t receive care during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic due to overwhelmed health services. If they return for medical attention, then the number joining the waiting list could outstrip the number being treated. That’s according to a new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

    Staff shortages and 3% pay rise

    In July, health secretary Sajid Javid warned that NHS waiting lists in England could rocket to 13 million.

    In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph a few weeks after being appointed to the role, Javid said what had “shocked me the most” was “when I was told that the waiting list is going to get a lot worse before it gets better”.

    However, Javid still pushed ahead with ‘Freedom Day’ on 19 July, ending all coronavirus restrictions. According to latest government figures, 747 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals in England on 3 August.

    The Royal College of Nursing’s England Director Patricia Marquis said the IFS figures “confirm the immense task that lies ahead for health and care services in recovering from the pandemic”.

    Adequate staffing levels and fair pay are key to increasing NHS capacity. Marquis said:

    If the Health Secretary wants to address the looming waiting list crisis, he should start by investing in the workforce.

    A significant pay rise will demonstrate value and help retain experienced nursing staff whom health services can’t afford to lose with this challenge ahead.

    Missing patients

    The IFS warned:

    In our first scenario, 80% of the approximately seven million ‘missing’ patients return over the next year, the NHS operates at 90% of its 2019 capacity this year and next…

    Under this scenario, waiting lists would soar to 14 million by the autumn of 2022 and then continue to climb, as the number joining the waiting list exceeds the number being treated.

    The IFS said it’s unlikely all patients will return due to the fact some will have died and others might have had private treatment or chosen to live with their health issues. But most will require treatment at some point, especially as virus cases decrease and “people are more willing to seek healthcare”.

    Even under the most optimistic scenario, the number of people waiting for treatment would rise to over nine million in 2022. And it would only return to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.

    The organisation said this outcome would require NHS capacity to increase by 5% this year and next, compared with 2019, and then by 10% in 2023 and beyond.

    It said this would be the equivalent of treating about 1.6 million extra patients a year.

    The report states:

    Our scenarios show that, in the longer run, whether or not waiting lists remain high will ultimately be determined by what capacity the NHS can achieve in the coming years.

    Shortly after her announcement as the new chief executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard acknowledged that among the pressures faced by the health service is “focusing on tackling the waiting times that have inevitably built up over the Covid pandemic”.

    ‘A wake-up call’

    Max Warner, a research economist at the IFS and an author of the analysis, said:

    More than four million people were on an NHS waiting list even before the pandemic.

    Covid-19 has only made matters worse, as millions of people have missed out on treatment and millions more haven’t even been referred onto the waiting list to begin with.

    He said without boosting NHS capacity there’s “a real risk… much longer waiting lists will be with us for years to come”.

    Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said:

    This analysis should be a wake-up call for ministers.

    It’s unacceptable that so many patients are waiting longer in pain and distress for vital treatment including cancer care. Hundreds of thousands are waiting over a year for operations and some are even waiting over two years risking their long-term health.

    Years of underfunding and cuts to healthcare had already left our NHS with ballooning waiting lists before the pandemic hit. Given these warnings it’s now even more urgent that a long term rescue plan is put in place to give the NHS the resources and staff it needs to bring down waiting lists and reducing waiting times for treatment.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Coronavirus patients in England hospitals rise 30% in a week

    The number of people in hospital with coronavirus (Covid-19) in England has risen to its highest level in four months, data shows.

    Latest figures from NHS England show that 4,401 hospital beds were occupied by confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday 23 July. That’s the highest level since 22 March.

    This is a week-on-week rise of 30.7% from the 3,367 people in hospital on 16 July.

    HEALTH Coronavirus
    (PA Graphics)

    Numbers are still lower than the peak of the second wave, when patient levels in England reached 34,336 on 18 January.

    The North East and Yorkshire had the highest number of beds occupied with coronavirus patients on Friday, at 1,026.

    This is up 40% on the previous week and the highest since 12 March, when there were 1,049.

    HEALTH Coronavirus
    (PA Graphics)

    Third wave

    The NHS England data also showed that coronavirus hospital admissions rose 23% week-on-week from 14 to 21 July. They rose from 636 to 783 respectively.

    The total includes 215 in the North East England and Yorkshire, up 17% week-on-week and the highest daily number for the region since 16 February.

    Total admissions for England are still below the peak of the second wave, when they hit 4,134 on 12 January.

    But the figures do reflect how the third wave of coronavirus is continuing to drive a slow but steady rise in hospital admissions. Meanwhile, restrictions such as mask-wearing and social distancing remain eased.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • England’s NHS waiting list tops 5 million for first time

    The number of people in England waiting to start NHS hospital treatment has risen above five million for the first time, new figures show.

    Data from NHS England shows that 5.12 million people were on the waiting list at the end of April – the highest number since records began in August 2007.

    The figures, published on Thursday, also show that the number of people having waited more than a year to start hospital treatment stood at 385,490 in April.

    This is down from 436,127 in the previous month, but around 35 times the number waiting a year earlier, in April 2020, which was 11,042.

    Meanwhile, A&E attendances in England last month were 65% higher than a year ago, NHS England said – although this is a reflection of lower-than-usual numbers for May 2020, which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

    A total of 2.08 million attendances were recorded in May, up from 1.26 million in May 2020.

    The equivalent figure for May 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 2.17 million.

    Dr Nick Scriven, past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said:

    The warning signs about where the NHS was heading were glaringly visible a number of years ago and what we are seeing in recent monthly data is the result of a lack of preparedness for the inevitable.

    With acute and emergency care under increasing strain and bed occupancy well over safe levels at more than 90% – yet far less impact from Covid at this point – we have major problems.

    We are in a dire state when it comes to record numbers of people waiting for treatment, but we must also remember the four-hour emergency access target has not been met for years now with little to no change in approach.

    The data also shows the number of people admitted for routine treatment in hospitals in England in April was 223,780 – more than five times the number a year earlier at 41,121, although again this reflects lower-than-usual figures for April 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic.

    The equivalent figure for April 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 280,209.

    Emergency admissions to A&E departments in England also showed a rise last month, up from 398,406 in May 2020 to 543,754.

    The equivalent figure for May 2019, a non-pandemic year, was 547,382.

    The NHS England figures also show that a total of 209,452 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in April, more than double the number in April 2020, which was 80,031.

    The equivalent figure for April 2019 was 199,217.

    Urgent referrals where breast cancer symptoms were present – though not initially suspected – were up from 3,866 in April to 14,259 in April 2021.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.