According to a new analysis by the Health Foundation charity, NHS waiting lists could exceed eight million by the next summer, even if strikes by doctors cease. The charity’s modelling work suggests that chronic shortages of NHS staff and funding are the main driver of the situation. The hospital activity growth rate is more than a third lower than current trends at 5.2% a year, and this rate could be even lower if strikes continue, leading to the waiting list continuing to grow, reaching a staggering 8.4 million by the end of 2024.
Though there is hope for a better scenario where the rate of hospital activity growth will increase by a third to 10.4% if strike action stops. The waiting list in this case will peak in October 2023 and fall to below 7.2 million by the end of 2024. While many attempts have been made to understand what is happening to patients waiting for treatments, patients are still waiting for treatment ranging from hip replacements to surgery to remove cancerous tumours. Nurses and other healthcare professionals had also participated in the strike, demanding better wages, resulting in over one million appointments and procedures to be rescheduled.
The Royal College of Surgeons of England suggested transformative solutions to tackle waiting lists in a meaningful and sustainable way. They recommended continuing to invest in surgical hubs across the country and focusing on the areas with the longest waits, improving the efficiency of surgeries. They also highlighted the need to improve staff morale and retention. The government’s commitment to recruiting new staff is a welcome initiative, but providing a supportive, well-resourced working environment is vital.
Patients are waiting in agony, hoping for a diagnosis, and their lives are put on hold waiting for medical treatments. Charles Tallack, from the Health Foundation, said that waiting lists had been growing long before Covid, and the pandemic has only heaped pressure on an already stressed system. While the NHS has made progress in bringing down the longest waits over the years, the waiting list is still rising due to the number of treatments yet to exceed the number of referrals. This problem needs to be addressed urgently to relieve the suffering of the patients on the waiting list
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