Soaring numbers of patients are having to wait more than a year for surgery because Covid has disrupted hospital care so badly, new NHS performance statistics show.
The big rise in people facing delays of at least 52 weeks for an operation comes amid warnings that access to treatment will take years to get back to normal.
In October, 162,888 people in England had waited more than a year for a non-urgent planned procedure, even though the supposed maximum waiting time is 18 weeks. That was the largest number of patients forced to wait that long since October 2008.
The total was 123 times more than the 1,321 such cases there were in October 2019 and was 23,343 (16.7%) up on the 139,545 in that situation just a month earlier. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said the surge in year-long waits was “staggering”.
Dr David Wrigley, the British Medical Association’s deputy council chair, said: “It is quite frankly alarming that the number of patients waiting more than a year for care is now 123 times higher than last October. These are patients in pain, distress and needing treatment.”
Prof Neil Mortensen, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said the people waiting for surgery would often be in pain and unable to get on with their normal life. “These waiting time figures drive home the devastating impact Covid has had on wider NHS services. Waiting lists for planned treatment were already heaving when the virus first struck. It has made the situation many times worse.”
Hospitals cancelled most elective surgery when the first lockdown began in March, which led to a big backlog of people who needed care. Although the NHS worked hard in the summer and early autumn to catch up on missed work, many patients still faced long delays.
David Maguire, a senior analyst at the King’s Fund, said: “The impact of Covid-19 on waiting times will be felt for years to come. Despite the best efforts of staff there simply isn’t the capacity to get through the backlog quickly.”
The latest monthly performance figures for the NHS in England also show that:
1.533 million people in October were waiting for treatment for more than 18 weeks.
Just 65.5% of patients were seen within 18 weeks in October – well below the 92% target.
4.44 million people were waiting for hospital treatment, the second highest figure on record
Fewer people are attending A&E, possibly because they are scared to go to hospital because of Covid, though more admitted patients are facing a 12-hour wait on a trolley.
An NHS spokesperson said: “Over the summer, some predicted that waiting lists would hit 10m by Christmas. But thanks to the work of NHS staff, the waiting-list is still lower than it was this time last year, and median waits for planned care shortened over the past month.”
Macmillan Cancer Support welcomed the fact that more patients with cancer or suspected cancer were referred for tests and treatment in October than September.
But, added Sara Bainbridge, the charity’s head of policy: “The reality is that tens of thousands of people are still missing cancer diagnoses as a result of the disruption caused by the coronavirus.”
The NHS spokesperson said: “Cancer treatment and referrals are now well above usual levels, with more than 200,000 people referred for checks in October and almost 180,000 people starting treatment since the peak of the pandemic.”
