>Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, praised the progress being made on reducing waits, pointing out this had happened during a period when the NHS had to cope with strikes by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors. He said it was a “triumph” for the hard work of staff.
SoulStuckInAthens on
Will take a win where it’s due I suppose. GP waiting times and A&E waiting times are still a massive joke though. Even my small patient list GP surgery is now having 10+ day waiting times for an appointment now. Before late 2025 you could still get an appointment in the same week most of the time.
My local hospital has been on and off declaring critical emergencies for A&E waiting times too. And actually using the postcode checker in the BBC article, it seems my hospital trust has some of the longest waiting lists in the country.
Gentle_Snail on
For the curious this post is currently sitting at a 30% downvote ratio
AmpleApple9 on
Lowest in 3 years because the govt paid the NHS to take people off the list, including those that died whilst waiting for their treatment. It’s all smoke and mirrors
Edit: for people downvoting me because they’re incapable of venturing out of their echo chamber.
A quick google search will show that hospital trusts are being paid £33 to remove people from waiting lists.
Confident_Leg2370 on
Yet here I am where I was supposed to get a consultation follow up appointment in November of last year and after emailing them they told me “I’m on the list” but they are going through it and it could be a 3 year delay?
But if I want the same treatment I can pay privately ( around £350 ) and be seen next week
vicbor65 on
Yes, I managed to book a doctor appointment on Monday. I booked 9 days in advance, not too bad.
Just filled in some forms online and received a message from my surgery 4 days later. And my workmate waited for a hernia op for no longer than a month.
West London.
Gold_owl_man on
Would love it if the government could get better at communicating their successes.
_a_m_s_m on
“Here’s why THIS is CRUSHING BLOW to RACHEL REEVES!!!!!!!”
*Starts frothing at the mouth*
Says_Who22 on
I’ve been seeing quite a lot of the NHS over the last few months following an accident amongst other things. Everything has been very efficient. Appointments on a 2 week schedule, district nurses arriving as needed, GP support as needed. Yes, when I was in hospital for 2 weeks, you could see they were busy, but everything was very professional, and everything got dealt with. Even an A&E visit was remarkably speedy.
Phone appointments with the GP seem to be a good idea, at least in my case. A non urgent one took 10 days, but the one about pain relief came the day after I reported a problem to the nurses.
Anecdotal evidence, obviously, but a good experience in my case. At a hospital that has been deemed to not be doing so well.
3rdtimes-the-charm on
We need to give the PM credit on this headline as equally we are to criticise him for others. Tories destroyed the NHS over 14 miserable years.
TalosAnthena on
I had a collapsed lung abroad. Came back and nobody knew what had even happened. 6 months later I finally have the right tests and see a specialist. Turns out my lung is still collapsed and it wasn’t showing up on the X-Rays! Happened to me also 10 years ago and I got seen and had the operation all within 5 months.
What I get from the NHS though is awful communication. They don’t have a clue what they’re doing, it’s all over the place. So I’m just carrying on as normal with a 30% lung collapse now as the specialist has gone away for 2 months…
Catch_0x16 on
Probably because we can’t even get doctors appointments anymore 😂
shizola_owns on
No explanation from the BBC or the government as to why it’s lower.
thefastestwayback on
That’s nice. I’ve been on a waiting list for 18 months and don’t anticipate being seen this side of 2030.
As always, there is huge variation across the NHS, geographically and across specialties. The numbers usually go down over winter, and there are massaged and cherry picked (excluding the specialties that have waiting lists measured in decades rather than months).
theearlof87 on
There was a HUGE backlog after COVID and they’ve been playing catch-up ever since. It should be getting lower as they do so.
(I’ve been on the waiting list for 3 years so far.. hopefully not too much longer)
kamikazilucas on
in my local hosptial the target of 18 week needs to be 70% by march and its at 60% down from 65% last november so
willysandglitter on
Very anecdotal, but I got told by a podiatrist to get a growth on one of my toes looked at (I thought it was a blister, she thought there was a chance of melanoma). Phoned the GP at 11am and had an appointment at 3pm. Likely just luck but I was expecting a “phone back when we open tomorrow”
DaddyChimpy on
Nhs queues being less are a lie. Been waiting 4 months per 5 minutes appointment with cancelations making me.waot an extra 3 months a time
_upintheair on
Waiting list at it lowest, whilst NHS staff burn out if at its highest?
Active-Class1176 on
I had a referral for something. Took like 2 years. Went along to 2 specialist appointments. They decided despite the fact it is a problem for me that is ongoing and painful they only treat at a certain physical threshold. So no treatment or help. No longer on the wait list.
That said tho I was investigated for a boob lump. Referred and seen within 2 weeks, ultrasound, mammogram and biopsied at that one appointment – on a weekend too. So they definitely have their shit together in some areas.
Socialistinoneroom on
Labour aren’t literally inventing numbers but the headline drop isn’t as clean as it sounds a chunk of the reduction is from “list cleaning” where trusts remove people who moved, declined treatment, went private, duplicates or patients who sadly died.. that makes the list smaller without actually treating more people..
Treatment numbers have gone up a bit but not enough to fully explain the fall and at the same time A&E waits are hitting record highs which shows the system is still under massive pressure..
So yeah TLDR the stats are technically true but the political spin makes it look like bigger progress than it probably is in real world terms..
wearethestorm11 on
Unless you need to see a Neurologist, then you’re fucked. 6 months minimum just for a consultation.
22 Comments
>Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, praised the progress being made on reducing waits, pointing out this had happened during a period when the NHS had to cope with strikes by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors. He said it was a “triumph” for the hard work of staff.
Will take a win where it’s due I suppose. GP waiting times and A&E waiting times are still a massive joke though. Even my small patient list GP surgery is now having 10+ day waiting times for an appointment now. Before late 2025 you could still get an appointment in the same week most of the time.
My local hospital has been on and off declaring critical emergencies for A&E waiting times too. And actually using the postcode checker in the BBC article, it seems my hospital trust has some of the longest waiting lists in the country.
For the curious this post is currently sitting at a 30% downvote ratio
Lowest in 3 years because the govt paid the NHS to take people off the list, including those that died whilst waiting for their treatment. It’s all smoke and mirrors
Edit: for people downvoting me because they’re incapable of venturing out of their echo chamber.
https://leamingtonobserver.co.uk/news/labour-paying-hospitals-to-delete-patients-from-waiting-lists-making-it-look-like-nhs-is-treating-more-people-than-it-is-national-news-60179/
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/hospitals-unlimited-incentive-payments-take-31398544
A quick google search will show that hospital trusts are being paid £33 to remove people from waiting lists.
Yet here I am where I was supposed to get a consultation follow up appointment in November of last year and after emailing them they told me “I’m on the list” but they are going through it and it could be a 3 year delay?
But if I want the same treatment I can pay privately ( around £350 ) and be seen next week
Yes, I managed to book a doctor appointment on Monday. I booked 9 days in advance, not too bad.
Just filled in some forms online and received a message from my surgery 4 days later. And my workmate waited for a hernia op for no longer than a month.
West London.
Would love it if the government could get better at communicating their successes.
“Here’s why THIS is CRUSHING BLOW to RACHEL REEVES!!!!!!!”
*Starts frothing at the mouth*
I’ve been seeing quite a lot of the NHS over the last few months following an accident amongst other things. Everything has been very efficient. Appointments on a 2 week schedule, district nurses arriving as needed, GP support as needed. Yes, when I was in hospital for 2 weeks, you could see they were busy, but everything was very professional, and everything got dealt with. Even an A&E visit was remarkably speedy.
Phone appointments with the GP seem to be a good idea, at least in my case. A non urgent one took 10 days, but the one about pain relief came the day after I reported a problem to the nurses.
Anecdotal evidence, obviously, but a good experience in my case. At a hospital that has been deemed to not be doing so well.
We need to give the PM credit on this headline as equally we are to criticise him for others. Tories destroyed the NHS over 14 miserable years.
I had a collapsed lung abroad. Came back and nobody knew what had even happened. 6 months later I finally have the right tests and see a specialist. Turns out my lung is still collapsed and it wasn’t showing up on the X-Rays! Happened to me also 10 years ago and I got seen and had the operation all within 5 months.
What I get from the NHS though is awful communication. They don’t have a clue what they’re doing, it’s all over the place. So I’m just carrying on as normal with a 30% lung collapse now as the specialist has gone away for 2 months…
Probably because we can’t even get doctors appointments anymore 😂
No explanation from the BBC or the government as to why it’s lower.
That’s nice. I’ve been on a waiting list for 18 months and don’t anticipate being seen this side of 2030.
As always, there is huge variation across the NHS, geographically and across specialties. The numbers usually go down over winter, and there are massaged and cherry picked (excluding the specialties that have waiting lists measured in decades rather than months).
There was a HUGE backlog after COVID and they’ve been playing catch-up ever since. It should be getting lower as they do so.
(I’ve been on the waiting list for 3 years so far.. hopefully not too much longer)
in my local hosptial the target of 18 week needs to be 70% by march and its at 60% down from 65% last november so
Very anecdotal, but I got told by a podiatrist to get a growth on one of my toes looked at (I thought it was a blister, she thought there was a chance of melanoma). Phoned the GP at 11am and had an appointment at 3pm. Likely just luck but I was expecting a “phone back when we open tomorrow”
Nhs queues being less are a lie. Been waiting 4 months per 5 minutes appointment with cancelations making me.waot an extra 3 months a time
Waiting list at it lowest, whilst NHS staff burn out if at its highest?
I had a referral for something. Took like 2 years. Went along to 2 specialist appointments. They decided despite the fact it is a problem for me that is ongoing and painful they only treat at a certain physical threshold. So no treatment or help. No longer on the wait list.
That said tho I was investigated for a boob lump. Referred and seen within 2 weeks, ultrasound, mammogram and biopsied at that one appointment – on a weekend too. So they definitely have their shit together in some areas.
Labour aren’t literally inventing numbers but the headline drop isn’t as clean as it sounds a chunk of the reduction is from “list cleaning” where trusts remove people who moved, declined treatment, went private, duplicates or patients who sadly died.. that makes the list smaller without actually treating more people..
Treatment numbers have gone up a bit but not enough to fully explain the fall and at the same time A&E waits are hitting record highs which shows the system is still under massive pressure..
So yeah TLDR the stats are technically true but the political spin makes it look like bigger progress than it probably is in real world terms..
Unless you need to see a Neurologist, then you’re fucked. 6 months minimum just for a consultation.