Longest waits for elective care are cut by 90%

The 78-week elective care waiting list has been cut by 90% since September 2021, according to new NHS England figures that show major improvements across long waits, urgent and emergency services, and cancer care.

The list fell from nearly 125,000 procedures in September 2021 to around 10,700 last month which NHS leaders say is due to the “phenomenal efforts of its staff”.

The latest monthly performance statistics also found that around half of NHS trusts in England have no patients on their elective care waiting lists apart from those who have chosen to wait longer.

In addition to this, ambulance response rates have improved to their fastest in two years and the 62-day cancer backlog has fallen for the first time since before the pandemic.

Some progress but cancer targets still being missed

Cancer Research UK said that although it is promising to see some progress, all cancer waiting time targets in England have been missed yet again.

• 83.9% of people were seen by a specialist within 2 weeks of an urgent suspected cancer referral. The target is 93%.
• 74.2% of people were diagnosed, or had cancer ruled out, within 28 days of an urgent referral in March 2023. The target is 75% and was introduced in 2021, but has only been met once since then, in February 2023.
• Only 63.5% of people in England received their diagnosis and started their first treatment within 2 months (or 62 days) of an urgent referral in March 2023. This is well below the target of 85% and this target has not been met since 2015, with a record low in January 2023.
• 91.9% of people started treatment within 31 days of doctors deciding a treatment plan in March 2023. The target is 96% and this performance was the 7th worst on record.

Still need a NHS Workforce Plan

The overall elective waiting list has also risen to over 7.3 million entries in England with 1.63 million people waiting for diagnostic tests and procedures. Additionally, while the number of medically fit patients waiting to be discharged has fallen, there are still 12,300 people delayed from leaving hospital.

NHS Confederation says the workforce crisis continues to be the single most disabling limitation for why their hardworking teams can’t deliver even more for their local communities. It is calling for the urgent publication of the NHS Workforce Plan to provide a long-term solution to the access challenges facing the NHS.

Rory Deighton, director of the NHS Confederation’s acute network said: “Thanks to the phenomenal efforts of its staff, the NHS has considerably slashed the 78-week elective care waiting list from nearly 125,000 procedures in September 2021 to around 10,700 last month. This progress is despite the NHS facing huge challenges including record emergency care pressures, a very difficult winter which saw high hospital bed occupancy rates, and five months of disruptive industrial action where nearly 60,000 procedures had to be postponed to protect patients.

“While the list has not been completely cleared nationally and the overall waiting list has risen, the NHS has done everything it can to recover its services following the pandemic and it will continue to do so.”

Focus needs to be on receiving care closer to home

The King’s Fund said that while some progress has been made against key NHS targets, the statistics also illustrate the ongoing pressure across the entire health and care system. It says recovery against key NHS targets is also likely to be slow, with industrial action adding to uncertainty.

Saoirse Mallorie, Senior Analyst at The King’s Fund added: “There has been good progress in reducing the number of people waiting more than 18 months for routine care, down to around 11,000 from 30,000 last month. However, there is still a long way to go to bring down the overall waiting list, which is at a record high of 7.3 million people.

“This is yet another month of worrying statistics that show people not getting the standard of care they need, and yet another month waiting for the oft-promised and long-overdue workforce plan, which must have funding to underpin it. There also needs to be a shift in focus from receiving care in hospitals to care closer to home. This involves investing properly in primary and community care services, as well as social care reform and full engagement with the voluntary sector.”