NHS Backlogs and waiting times
Public Accounts Committee
Closed
Inquiry
The NHS in England was running at close to maximum capacity before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has led to a sharp drop in routine NHS activity, resulting in more people waiting for treatment, and waiting for longer . The Committee will question the senior officials at DHSC and NHS …
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5
Recommendations
18
Conclusions
1
Report
1
Oral session
1
Event
Activity timeline 3 events
27 May
2022
2022
16 Mar
2022
2022
Report published
15 Dec
2021
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
15 Dec 2021
View on parliament.uk
NHS Backlogs and waiting times
Amanda Pritchard · NHS England
Matthew Style · Department of Health and Social Care
Professor Stephen Powis · NHS England
Sir Chris Wormald · Department of Health and Social Care
Sir James Mackey · NHS England
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs and waiting times in England | HC 747 | 16 Mar 2022 | 23 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
12 results
2
Recommendation
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
At our evidence session the Department and NHSE&I appeared unwilling to make measurable commitments about...
At our evidence session the Department and NHSE&I appeared unwilling to make measurable commitments about what new funding for elective recovery would achieve in terms of additional NHS capacity and reduced patient waiting times. NHSE&I will receive an additional £8 …
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Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and published the Elective Recovery Plan to eliminate waits of longer than a year for elective care by March 2025 and to have 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test receive it within six weeks by March 2025. NHSE will deliver up to 100 more community diagnostic centers across the country by 2025.
HM Treasury
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3
Recommendation
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
The NHS will be less able to deal with backlogs if it does not address...
The NHS will be less able to deal with backlogs if it does not address longstanding workforce issues and ensure the existing workforce, including in urgent and emergency care and general practice, is well supported. NHSE&I believes it will be …
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Government Response
The government agrees and states that ensuring the NHS has a workforce in the right numbers and with the right skills to deliver service commitments to patients is crucial; growth of the NHS workforce continues to be a priority. It has also commissioned NHS England and Improvement and HEE to develop a Long-Term Workforce Plan to be published in due course.
HM Treasury
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4
Recommendation
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
It will be very challenging for the NHS to focus sufficiently on the needs of...
It will be very challenging for the NHS to focus sufficiently on the needs of patients when it comes to dealing with backlogs, both patients already on waiting lists and those who have avoided seeking or been unable to obtain …
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Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and states that better information and support for patients is a key part of the Elective Recovery Plan; NHSE&I launched the My Planned Care platform and the NHS is prioritizing diagnosis and treatment according to clinical urgency.
HM Treasury
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5
Recommendation
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
Waiting times for elective and cancer treatment are too dependent on where people live and...
Waiting times for elective and cancer treatment are too dependent on where people live and there is no national plan to address this postcode lottery. In September 2021, patients in the worst-performing geographic areas were more than twice as likely …
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Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and has done extensive work to model a range of scenarios to better understand the levels of ‘bounce-back’ demand, also working to establish regional and national cancer teams and a national programme to improve the treatment and care of patients.
HM Treasury
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6
Recommendation
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
For the next few years it is likely that waiting time performance for cancer and...
For the next few years it is likely that waiting time performance for cancer and elective care will remain poor and the waiting list for elective care will continue to grow. The UK has low numbers of healthcare resources per …
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Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation. NHS England published the Elective Recovery Plan in February 2022 which sets out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective and cancer services over the next three years, and what patients can expect, which allows better understanding of future demand.
HM Treasury
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10
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
Between 2010 and 2019 the NHS saw an average annual growth in emergency admissions of...
Between 2010 and 2019 the NHS saw an average annual growth in emergency admissions of more than 3% and in urgent cancer referrals from GPs of more than 10%. Although there was relatively strong growth in the number of consultants …
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Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's observation regarding capacity needs, stating it is already addressing this through the NHS England mandate and the Elective Recovery Plan, which include targets for reducing elective care waits and improving cancer diagnosis times.
HM Treasury
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11
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
The very large numbers of people who have not presented for healthcare, or were not...
The very large numbers of people who have not presented for healthcare, or were not able to obtain it, during the pandemic, as well as those who have already been on waiting lists for long periods of time present a …
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Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's observation of risk, detailing that its Elective Recovery Plan and the expansion of the 'My Planned Care' platform will provide better information and support to patients, including personalized waiting list advice.
HM Treasury
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16
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
There are 6 million people on the waiting list for elective care.36 NHSE&I told us...
There are 6 million people on the waiting list for elective care.36 NHSE&I told us it intends to focus on those with the highest clinical need and priority, and especially in the immediate period, those who have waited the longest …
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Government Response
The government agreed with the committee's observation, reinforcing that NHSE&I's intentions are part of the mandate for NHS England and the Elective Recovery Plan, including targets to eliminate two-year waits by July 2022 and achieve 75% 28-day cancer diagnosis by March 2024. The Secretary of State committed to monitoring progress and publishing an assessment.
HM Treasury
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17
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
We asked about how patients other than the longest waiters and those with the highest...
We asked about how patients other than the longest waiters and those with the highest clinical priority would be supported while they waited. NHSE&I stated that GPs had a role in managing these patients and that it was also asking …
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Government Response
The government agreed with the committee's observation, stating that better information and support for patients is a key part of the Elective Recovery Plan and highlighting the launch and planned expansion of the 'My Planned Care' platform to provide personalized information and support to patients awaiting treatment.
HM Treasury
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18
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
In September 2021, patients in the worst-performing of NHSE&I’s 42 geographic areas of England were...
In September 2021, patients in the worst-performing of NHSE&I’s 42 geographic areas of England were more than twice as likely as patients in the best-performing areas to have been waiting over 18 weeks for elective care. Patients were also more …
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Government Response
The government agreed with the committee's observation, describing existing work including demand modelling, providing tools to regions for activity planning, publishing cancer referral data, and offering support through regional cancer teams and the GIRFT programme to address variation and reduce backlogs.
HM Treasury
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19
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
We asked NHSE&I to explain these disparities.
We asked NHSE&I to explain these disparities. It told us that the COVID-19 pandemic had had a differential effect across the country and that the differences reflected where the NHS had most diagnostic capacity and skilled workforce compared with where …
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Government Response
The government agreed with the committee's observation, describing existing work including demand modelling, providing tools to regions for activity planning, publishing cancer referral data, and offering support through regional cancer teams and the GIRFT programme to address variation and minimise backlogs.
HM Treasury
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20
Conclusion
Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
We asked about very long-waiters in different areas and what action NHSE&I was taking to...
We asked about very long-waiters in different areas and what action NHSE&I was taking to reduce them. It told us that all areas had had the same expectation placed upon them, to attempt to reduce the number of patients who …
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Government Response
The government agreed with the committee's observation and described ongoing work including demand modelling, providing tools to regions for activity planning, publishing cancer referral data, and offering support through regional cancer teams and the GIRFT programme to reduce long waits and disparities.
HM Treasury
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