WIREDGOV

Deborah Ward, Senior Analyst at The King’s Fund, commented on the monthly performance data on A&E, referral to treatment and diagnostics 

‘Although the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 continues to decline, the impact of the pandemic on health care staff and patients will be felt for years to come.

‘There are now more than 300,000 people waiting more than a year for routine care and around 1.5 million waiting more than the 18-week standard. The total waiting list now stands at 4.6 million people, meaning roughly 1 in 12 people in England are awaiting NHS treatment. With the backlog building and Covid-19 rates still high in some areas, hospitals will be under sustained pressure for some time to come. Once we are beyond the emergency phase of the pandemic, addressing the wider problems facing staff and patients will take years rather than months. Long waits, regional and social inequalities in access to care, and the mental and physical health toll of the pandemic on staff and patients are just some of the problems that will need to be addressed in the coming years.’