NHS waiting times hit another record, and more going private

NHS waiting times hit another grim record in February, with an estimated 7.22 million people waiting for routine hospital treatment, the highest for more than 15 years.

The figures have come as research suggested that  one in eight Britons are now turning to private healthcare alternatives in frustration, and health insurers have called for the government and employers to do more to fill healthcare gaps through workplace-based insurance-funded healthcare.

The latest figures from NHS England showed a rise in waits from 7.21 million in January, with the 7.22 million the highest since records began in 2007. Ambulance response times for all types of emergencies also got even longer.

Around one in 10 people arriving at A&E were waiting more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged.

The deepening crisis over NHS strikes, with the prospect of nurses and junior doctors combining on strike action after nurses last week rejected a pay offer, is only likely to exacerbate the waits situation.

NHS England argued that, despite the overall picture, the number of people waiting longest for elective treatment had dropped for the third month in a row as services dealt with the busiest winter on record.

The number of people waiting more than 18 months for elective care dropping by a third between January and February to 30,000 (29,778), while the number of patients waiting more than one year dropped by 17,000 to 362,498, it said.

This winter had been the busiest on record for A&E staff with 8.3million (8,322,709) attendances over the last four months – 40,000 more than the previous record winter in 2018/19 (8,283,429).

High levels of pressure on services continued in March with A&E attendances and ambulance call-outs at the highest levels recorded so far this year (2,163,709 A&E attendances and 611,548 ambulance call-outs, it added.

NHS national medical director, professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “The last few months have been demanding for the NHS as record numbers of patients have come forward for care on top of hugely disruptive strike action.

“But amidst the demand and industrial action, staff have progressed on key NHS priorities with the number of people waiting the longest for elective care continuing to reduce while for the first time ever the NHS has also hit the faster diagnosis standard for cancer – with more patients getting a definitive diagnosis or the all clear within 28 days.”

The frustration many patients now feel with the NHS has led to a sharp rise in people turning to private healthcare alternatives if they can afford it, new data has also suggested.

One in eight Britons had paid for private health services in the last year, according to research by pollster YouGov published in The Guardian.

Another 27% had considered going private for themselves or a loved one but had decided against it, often because they couldn’t afford it.

A third (33%) of those who had used private healthcare instead of the NHS had done so for the first time, more than half (53%) went private “so I could be seen more quickly”.

A similar percentage (48%) had paid for non-urgent care, such as a diagnostic test or operation.

Among the 13% who had paid for private care, 29% had used disposable income but a quarter (25%) had used a work-based private health scheme, savings (24%), private medical insurance (14%) or money they had borrowed from friends or family (6%), the poll found.

The research follows a call last month by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) for the government to do more to make it easier for employers and individuals to purchase health insurance and help people return to the workplace.

Ahead of last month’s Budget, the ABI called on the government to cut insurance premium tax on health insurance.

It also published research suggesting as many as seven out of ten people (69%) would consider using independent healthcare if it were offered to them as an employee benefit.