Private sector urges action to cut record waiting lists
Private healthcare providers and surgeons are calling on the Government to publish a clear plan of action to tackle record waiting lists in its ‘Elective Recovery Plan’ later this month.
Responding to the latest NHS performance figures published today, David Hare, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), said: ‘Today’s alarming performance figures show yet another record NHS waiting list, with over 5.8m people currently waiting for treatment – an increase of over 100,000 on the previous month.
‘With the NHS having a target that by the end of March 2022 waiting lists do not rise above 5.8m, it’s vital that its forthcoming elective recovery strategy contains a clear plan of action to get a grip on the backlog – increasing levels of activity to meet the end-of-March target and ensuring NHS patients can access the care they need.
‘Recovering NHS performance is the public’s number-one priority for the health service and patients will want to be assured that all available resources are utilised to get them treated – including NHS systems making full use of local independent sector capacity.’
The Royal College of Surgeons of England called for national guidance to support the creation of surgical hubs in every region.
Waiting time statistics for England published today also report that the number of patients waiting over two years for hospital treatment has passed the ‘shocking milestone’ of 10,000, for the first time.
Miss Fiona Myint
Miss Fiona Myint, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said it was essential that the Government’s Elective Recovery Plan established surgical hubs in every part of England, to help address waning access to surgery.
Miss Myint said: ‘The Government should include clear guidance in its upcoming Elective Recovery Plan, setting out how regions can establish surgical hubs, where operations can continue with fewer cancellations and disruptions.
‘By separating planned surgery from emergency care, surgical hubs are our best option for keeping planned surgery running. The time is ripe, as we see access to planned surgery waning again in many areas, because of growing winter pressures.’
The Referral to Treatment data published by NHS England reveals there were 5.83m people on the NHS waiting list in September 2021, the highest number since records began. By comparison, there were 4.35m patients waiting for planned surgery in September 2020.
The longest waits reported are the 12,491 patients waiting more than two years for hospital treatment. This represents a 28% increase on the previous month. The longest waits were for trauma and orthopaedic treatment such as hip and knee replacements (2,665), followed by general surgery – such as gallbladder removals and hernia operations (1,663), followed by ear, nose and throat treatment (1,498).