The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has hit a new record in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 5.3 million people were on the waiting list at the end of May – the highest since registrations began in August 2007.
But the number of people admitted to hospital for surgery and routine treatment comes down to pre-pandemic levels, NHS England figures show.
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In May, 242,064 people were admitted, a four-fold increase from 54,550 a year earlier, when hospitals treated thousands of COVID-19[female[feminine the patients.
The NHS admitted nearly 295,881 people for routine treatment in May 2019, before the pandemic hit, suggesting the service is set to address the number of pre-COVID patients.
The number of people waiting more than 52 weeks to start treatment fell by nearly 50,000 from April to May, but at 336,733, it is still about 13 times higher than the previous year.
For those waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment, the figure is down to nearly 83,000, from 1.81 million in April to 1.73 million in May.
NHS Medical Director Professor Stephen Powys said it was’ reassuring to see significant reductions in wait times for routine operations in today’s numbers, and for the first time this year , a reduction in the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment ”.
Responding to the high overall wait list, Tracey Loftis, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Versus Arthritis, said: “Joint replacements fall under the category of planned surgeries and treatments that have been hit the most and slower to restart over the past year, all too often seen as not serious or upsetting enough to be at the front of the line. “
Stella Vig, board member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “Behind the statistics are patients awaiting planned surgery such as breast reconstruction …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-07-08 10:50:00
