That’s according to a new poll by Savanta. With NHS waiting lists rising for a third month in a row, according to new figures released today1, a private healthcare provider claims that the stats don’t take into account the time it takes for a diagnosis before a patient is then added to a treatment waiting list.
According to a study from Practice Plus Group, 30% of people who are currently on an NHS waiting list for treatment, waited over a year from awareness of their condition to getting on the list. This rises to 40% for those aged 65-74, who are waiting the longest of any age group to get on an NHS list.
Other findings from the Savanta data poll commissioned by the group, (which surveyed 2000 people in the UK), include:
- When it comes to orthopaedic surgery- one of the specialties most impacted by waiting lists- 42% of those who have had or are waiting for a hip replacement on the NHS waited over a year before getting on the NHS list, 40% for a knee replacement
- Of all those who have had or are waiting for gynaecological surgery, 37% have waited over a year to get on a list.
- 30% of people who have recently paid for their surgery privately are what Wes Streeting coined ‘NHS refugees’; they had been on an NHS waiting list for over a year before going private [in addition to the time they waited to get on the list]
Dr Marjorie Gillespie, a GP and Medical Director at Practice Plus Group said: “We are finding that people are waiting to access NHS services, whether through a feeling of hopelessness, not wanting to add to more pressure on the NHS, or not being able to access GP appointments. Others are entering the system but have been facing increased restrictions to qualify for a referral to consultant-led treatment, for example orthopaedic patients being passed from physio to injections, or even needing to be in pain for a certain length of time before getting on a list for surgery. Opening up more appointments, empowering patients with more choice of where to receive their treatment and using the private sector will all help drive down waiting lists under the new administration.”
Sources and references
1 Statistics » Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times Data 2024-25 (england.nhs.uk)
