The NHS waiting list could be 3 million people longer than previously thought, with many waiting more than a year, an official report reveals.
The Office for National Statistics said its survey of 90,000 adults in England found 21 per cent were waiting for an NHS appointment, including an operation or scan.
This means that around 9.7 million people (more than one in five) are waiting for the results to be extrapolated to the entire population.
However, independent figures published by NHS England say that at the end of January there were 6.3 million people waiting for 7.6 million appointments, with some people needing more than one type of care.
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Part of the discrepancy may be because the NHS does not include those waiting for follow-up consultations, with critics previously accusing health chiefs of keeping these people on a “hidden waiting list”, meaning they may be sidelined. as a low priority.
The ONS representative survey also found that one in seven respondents waiting for an NHS appointment had been waiting for more than a year, while NHS England says only one in 20 on its lists have been delayed that long.
According to ONS figures, this would suggest that 1.35 million patients have been waiting more than 12 months, four times more than the 321,394 reported by NHS England.
Additionally, the ONS estimates that 670,000 people have been waiting for 18 months or more, compared to the 14,000 reported by health officials.
NHS England pledged to end waits of more than 18 months more than a year ago.
Brett Hill, head of health and safeguarding at independent consultancy Broadstone, said: “Of particular concern is the wide gap between reported data on NHS waiting lists and ONS survey findings, which suggest the proportion of UK adults now waiting for medical care. treatment or counseling is much greater than previously thought.
“The 21 per cent of adults in England now waiting to access healthcare highlights the huge problems businesses face when it comes to supporting the health of their employees and reducing sick leave.”
Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s shadow health minister, said: “If the cover is blown, the crisis in the NHS is even worse than it seemed.”
‘One in five people in England are stuck on waiting lists and are waiting longer than ever.
‘Rishi Sunak has broken his promise to reduce waiting lists and now plans to close services and cut doctors and nurses.
“The longer the Conservatives stay in power, the longer patients will wait.”
The ONS also asked the public about their access to GPs and their satisfaction with their general practice.
Almost one in 10 people said they had been unable to contact their GP the last time they tried to book an appointment, while 7.4 per cent said they were told to call back another day or call 111. because practice couldn’t help.
Almost a third of patients said they had found it “difficult” or “very difficult” to get an appointment, while just under half said it had been easy.
Dr Margaret Ikpoh, vice-president of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We know how much our patients value the care offered by GPs and our teams, and we share their frustrations when they struggle to access it when they need it.
An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘Official published statistics on NHS waiting lists actually show that 6.3 million patients were on NHS waiting lists at the end of January and only 4.2 per cent of The waits lasted more than a year.
‘Work is underway to reduce longer waits for patients, but despite pressures and industrial action, hard-working NHS staff have ensured the Covid backlog has fallen for four months in a row and waits by 18 months have decreased by almost 90 percent at their peak.
“In terms of GP care, almost two-thirds of people are happy with their experience, and millions more are receiving appointments compared to before the pandemic.”
