Data from the ONS today demonstrates the damaging impact that NHS delays are having on people’s lives and livelihoods. More than two in 10 (22%) adults – a total of around 11.5 million people – said that they were waiting for a hospital appointment or to start receiving treatment while a fifth proportion (18%) of those waiting for NHS treatment said that they had had an appointment cancelled or delayed in the past month.
 
Seventeen percent of those waiting for treatment have been doing so for over a year, while 6% - over 3 million people – said that they had either paid for private care or had private insurance pay for some or all of their treatment because of the wait for the NHS.
 
This limited access to treatment is impacting people’s work. Around a third (31%) of employed or self-employed adults reported that waiting for NHS treatment had affected their work – of these people, over half (52%) said they had changed the tasks they do, 14% had reduced working hours and one in ten (11%) had gone on long-term sick.
 
Brett Hill, Head of Health & Protection at leading independent consultancy Broadstone, commented: “Another day and another set of parlous figures for the UK’s public health service. With the NHS reporting that the backlog for treatment now totals over 7 million it is little wonder that the ONS data tracking access to the NHS uncovers such a high proportion of people waiting for its services alongside the damaging consequences for people’s health, both mentally and physically, as well as on productivity.
 
“It is little surprise therefore that we are starting to see demand for private healthcare increase with over 3 million people saying they had paid, or had insurance pay, for some form of private medical appointment, test or treatment in the past month because the wait for the NHS was too long.
 
“Limited NHS access is no longer just a patient crisis, but a growing problem for employers with over 350,000 leaving the workforce since the pandemic because of long-term sickness. Workers who must wait many months before starting treatment are reducing hours or leaving the workforce entirely.
 
“It is why businesses must invest in the health of their staff, taking proactive steps to support employees such as providing private healthcare and dental options. Robust and timely preventative action will help businesses maintain staffing levels, avoid costly exits and attract staff in the war for talent.”