• The Public Accounts Committee has published its report on NHS waiting times for elective and cancer treatment.
• It found only 38% of NHS trusts are meeting 62-day waiting times standard for referral to treatment for cancer patients.
• Less than half of NHS trusts are meeting the 18-week waiting times standard for elective treatment.
• The waiting list for elective care has increased by 1.5 million since March 2013 to 4.2 million in November 2018.
  
  

Responding to the Public Accounts Committee report on NHS waiting times for elective and cancer treatment, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin said:

“Trusts are working flat out to meet the constitutional standards but a combination of severe staff shortages, rapidly increasing demand and financial pressures has left performance against these standards falling further and further behind.

Trusts are working flat out to meet the constitutional standards but a combination of severe staff shortages, rapidly increasing demand and financial pressures has left performance against these standards falling further and further behind.

Miriam Deakin    Co-Director of Development and Engagement

“Trusts are rightly prioritising patients who are most sick, but that has a knock-on impact on other parts of the service. We now have a growing waiting list which risks pushing even more people towards emergency care if their condition deteriorates.

“It is particularly worrying to see that more patients with suspected cancer face delays between diagnosis and starting treatment. We know that cancer outcomes can often depend on the speed at which patients can access the treatment they need.

We must break this cycle by ensuring staff and resources are in place across all parts of the health and care sector, both within hospitals and in the community, to meet increasing demand.

Miriam Deakin    Co-Director of Development and Engagement

“We must break this cycle by ensuring staff and resources are in place across all parts of the health and care sector, both within hospitals and in the community, to meet increasing demand.”