Rising demand piles pressure on NHS as waiting lists grow

• The total waiting list for procedures and appointments increased to 7.40 million in July, up from 7.37 million in June.
• 1,640,749 elective care patient pathways were completed in July, the highest for any July going back to 2008. 
• 75.9% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged from A&E departments within four hours in August, down on the 76.4% in July
• A&Es had the busiest August on record for attendances with 2.27 million attendances, though this was down from 2.41 million in July.
• Category 2 ambulance average response time for August was 27 minutes and 03 seconds, compared to 28 minutes and 40 seconds reported in July.
• For Category 1 ambulances, the average response time was 7 minutes and 47 seconds in August, compared to 7 minutes and 56 seconds in July.

Responding to the latest NHS performance statistics published by NHS England, Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, said: 

“It is clear from these new statistics that demand for NHS care is continuing to grow – A&Es had the busiest August on record while a record number of people got a cancer diagnosis or the disease ruled out within 28 days in July. 

“NHS leaders and their teams have worked incredibly hard to keep performance levels stable. But we are concerned that if demand continues to grow we could be entering another very difficult winter where seasonal pressures could be further exacerbated by a fresh wave of strikes.

“It is also disappointing that waiting lists rose for the second month in a row despite the fact the NHS managed to deliver millions of extra tests, appointments and operations compared to last year. While the NHS managed to maintain levels of planned activity during the resident doctor strikes, the rise in waiting lists shows the scale of the challenge needed to achieve the 18-week target.

“We have been urging the government to continue to boost capital investment in the NHS so that it can repair crumbling estates and invest in new infrastructure. The NHS will not be able to deliver the government’s promise to cut waiting times unless the government commits to allowing private capital investment to build modern healthcare facilities fit for the 21st century.”