Hospital waiting list in England tops 7.5 million

Newly released data has revealed that for the first time, the waiting list for hospital treatment in England has topped 7.5 million, meaning that nearly one in seven of the population is on an NHS waiting list for routine treatment, including knee and hip operations.

NHS England said strike action had had an impact, with junior doctors walking out for three days during the month of June, leading to the cancellation of over 100,000 appointments.

The waiting list is now more than three million higher than before the pandemic, with over 383,000 waiting for longer than a year.

Julian Redhead from NHS England, said “Today’s data is a reminder of the significant pressure on staff with this summer currently on trajectory to be the busiest in NHS history, all while industrial action continues to disrupt services.”

Rory Deighton of the NHS Confederation, representing hospital managers, said it was “unsurprising, but regrettable” that the waiting list had hit such a high.

“These figures should give further impetus to all sides to find a solution to industrial action.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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