‘Years and years’ to clear NHS ops backlog
HEALTH experts have warned a record NHS waiting list of almost five million people will take “years and years” to clear and cause “tens of thousands” of avoidable deaths.
The backlog of those waiting for more than a year to see a consultant or have surgery is up from 387,885 in February to 436,127 in March– the highest figure since 2007.
Patients in England facing long delays for hip replacements, cataract surgery and other operations rose from 4.69 million to 4.95 million, an increase of more than 250,000 in just a month.
The grim NHS England statistics will renew fears that the health of those with cancer, heart disease and other illnesses could deteriorate as they wait to get the care they need.
Daily Express columnist Dr Rosemary Leonard said: “These are awful figures and it will be years before the list starts to go down.
“I’m booking patients for 2022.
After that they will be waiting many months for secondary appointments and surgery. I can’t even get tests done, the system is so clogged up.”
She said the “Choose & Book” system where patients can select appointments has ground to a halt and warned staff will have to work longer hours to ease the backlog.
Dr Leonard said: “Local hospital trusts will have to persuade doctors and nurses to work late and over the weekends.”
Cancer specialist Professor Karol Sikora believes the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the health service – particularly in his field.
He said: “It’s impossible to overstate the damage inflicted on cancer services over the last 14 months.
“Diagnosis, treatment, research – all have been profoundly disrupted which will lead to many avoidable deaths over coming months and years.
“Tens of thousands of excess cancer deaths are expected, yet politicians seem oblivious to the problem.
“If we tackled the cancer crisis with a fraction of the effort that has been diverted towards Covid-19, I am certain countless lives would be saved.”
Access to time-sensitive NHS care should be available within 18 weeks.
Speeding it up is set to be “a critical priority for the rest of the Parliament” and yesterday an extra £160million was announced to cut waiting times.
The Royal College of Surgeons said the figures were “stomach churning”.
Tim Mitchell, RCS vice-president in
England, blamed them on the suspension of many NHS services when intensive care beds were prioritised for coronavirus patients.
Impact
He said: “We’ve become accustomed to seeing the record broken each month for the number waiting for hospital treatment. But we must not forget that behind these stomachchurning numbers are ordinary people who have put their lives on hold.
“The figures show the impact a year of Covid has had on NHS surgery and it will take many years to get back to pre-pandemic waiting times. The recovery of planned surgery is well under way. Still, any prospect of chiselling down the list is premature, as new patients are presenting daily.”
NHS data also found in March that 300,000 patients in England had been waiting more than six weeks for a key diagnostic test for conditions including cancer. A total of 305,061 were waiting for one of 15 standard tests, including an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy.
The equivalent number waiting in March 2020 was 85,446. But there were 232,084 urgent cancer referrals made by GPs in England in March compared with 183,603 a year ago – a rise of 26 per cent and the highest since records began in October 2009.
Urgent breast cancer referrals were up from 12,449 in March last year to 15,670 this year, a rise of 26 per cent.
Dame Cally Palmer, NHS cancer director, said: “From Covid-friendly drugs to specialist radiotherapy, staff have gone to great lengths to ensure cancer treatment could continue through the pandemic. It is welcome news that more people than ever before came forward for potentially life-saving checks in March.”