NHS hospital waiting lists could hit 10 million in England this year
I fear that hotspots of frailty in rural areas, particularly coastal areas, will be particularly impacted by the impact of these waiting lists. This story tells us:
The waiting list for hospital treatment could soar to almost 10 million people by Christmas amid a huge backlog caused by coronavirus disrupting services, NHS leaders are warning.
Hospital bosses say that such a massive increase in England is a realistic prospect, given so many people have been unable to have surgery and crucial diagnostic tests in recent months while the NHS’s main priority has been minimising the damage from Covid-19.
The total number of people waiting to undergo a procedure in a hospital in England such as a hernia repair, cataract removal or hip or knee replacement stood at 4.4 million before the pandemic. It then fell to 4.2 million because in March GPs referred fewer patients for care to help hospitals tackle the pandemic and also because some patients were reluctant to risk getting infected by going into hospital.
However, the NHS Confederation estimates that it is likely to reach 9.8 million by the end of the year as a result of staff shortages and hospitals having to cap the number of patients they can treat at any one time because of strict physical distancing rules that reduce the number of beds available.
In a “pessimistic” scenario – which would result if a second wave of the virus emerges – the waiting list, comprising people who are meant to be treated within 18 weeks, could hit 10.8 million. And even under the confederation’s best-case “optimistic” scenario about 8.1 million people would be waiting.