Patients waiting over year on NHS soars from just six to 3,500

THE stark impact of coronavirus on hospital waiting lists has caused the number of patients waiting for more than a year to rocket from just six to more than 3,500.

At the end of February, there were 3,526 people who had already waited more than a year to see a consultant at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust following a GP referral.

That figure was just months earlier.

There are now 31,782 people on the waiting list for treatment of which about one in nine have waited more than a year. The number waiting more than a year at the trust has jumped 31.4% in a month, from 2,683 people waiting that long at the end of January.

Across England, the number waiting more than a year for hospital treatment has surged to 387,885 at the end of February – or one in 12 people on the waiting list. Numbers have increased by more than a quarter in a month, from 304,044 in January.

Dr David Wrigley, BMA council deputy chair, said: “Today’s statistics are a stark reminder that, despite falling Covid-19 infection rates and the progress of the vaccination campaign, the health service remains in an incredibly precarious state.

“With the waiting list for treatment reaching another recordhigh, almost 388,000 people have waited for longer than a year for routine operations in England – a staggering 240-fold increase from 12 months ago.

“Behind each of these shocking figures are people – people facing months of pain and anguish as they wait for vital treatment.

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“Doctors want so desperately to provide care to patients, and it distresses them to see so many people not getting the care they need. Meanwhile, staff are exhausted after spending a year on the front line, and are now looking with severe trepidation at the largest backlog in care ever, so it is vital that their own health and wellbeing are protected - allowing them time to rest and recover.”

He said now is a critical time for the health service, and as restrictions begin to ease, everyone needs to do what they can to prevent a new surge in infections.

Around two in five of all patients who have received hospital treatment for Covid were admitted in the first two months of the year, with NHS staff treating almost 140,000 Covid patients in January and February.

Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director for the NHS in England, said treating 400,000 patients with Covid-19 over the course of the last year has inevitably had an impact on the NHS, but added that it was testament to the hard work and dedication of staff that they managed to deliver almost two million ops and procedures in the face of the winter wave.

He said: “The NHS recently announced a £1bn elective recovery fund which will be used to accelerate the restoration of services and treat as many people as possible, so we continue to urge anyone who needs the NHS to come forward so we can help you.”

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