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The number of patients waiting for routine hospital treatments in England has decreased to the lowest level in two years, with the waiting list dropping to 7.39 million by the end of April, down from 7.42 million in March. Despite this improvement, the NHS has not met its target of 92% of patients being seen within 18 weeks for over nine years, currently falling just below 60%.
In an effort to address this issue, the government has made meeting the target a priority for this parliament. Recently, above-inflation rises for the NHS were announced as part of the plan to help achieve this goal. Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting stated, “We are putting the NHS on the road to recovery,” emphasizing the importance of this mission.
The progress in reducing the waiting list comes after a peak in September 2023, when it reached nearly 7.8 million. Meghana Pandit from NHS England credited the improvement to the dedication of NHS staff. Despite this positive trend, challenges remain, with Dr. Tim Cooksley of the Society for Acute Medicine highlighting the lack of social care available in the community as a major obstacle.
While key targets for cancer care and A&E services are being met, there are still areas where improvement is needed. The government acknowledged that the health services in other UK nations are also struggling to meet their key targets. Overall, there is a recognition that more work needs to be done to ensure timely access to care for all patients and address the underlying issues impacting hospital services
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