Three million on NHS England waiting lists have had no care since GP referral | NHS

Almost half of the 6 million people needing NHS treatment in England had no other care since he joined a waiting list at the hospital, reveals new data.

Previous invisible figures of the NHS in England show that 2.99 million of the 6.23 million patients (48%) awaiting care had neither their first appointment with a specialist or a diagnostic test since their reference by a general practitioner.

The patient association has described the situation as “an invisible waiting list crisis which was” amazing “on a scale, with millions living in limbo, anxious because their health is deteriorating.

Data raise doubts about Keir Starmer’s repeated promise that 92% of patients will be treated within 18 weeks of the reference by 2029 – its main promise to healthy voters. The objective has not been affected since 2015 and, in May, 61% were treated in time.

In another sign of the difficulty of achieving this objective, data show that a third of the 3 million invisible patients – 1 million people – have already waited more than 18 weeks without receiving care.

This is the first time that the phenomenon of “invisible patients” has appeared within the framework of the enormous challenge that the government has faced in its desire to “recover the NHS on its feet”. Until now, the debate around the NHS backwards has focused on the number of treatments that patients should receive and how much respectively 7.36 m and 6.23 m await.

“If precise, 3 million people are trapped in a crisis in the invisible waiting list, stuck without basic diagnostic tests of the first appointments while their conditions get worse,” said Rachel Power, general manager of the patient association.

“The scale is astounding because almost half of all the patients on a waiting list have not been seen per person. It is not a health service; It is a break.

“These are not just statistics. These are people who check their phone daily for hospital calls that never come, unable to plan their lives while their symptoms deteriorate. ”

The figures have been collected and analyzed by the specialist in health data Mbi Health, which helps dozens of NHS trusts to improve their treatment times. He shared his conclusions with The Guardian.

Barry Mulholland, the founder of the company and former director of the NHS, said that the health service should consider the waiting list as “a frontlog, not a backlog”, because so many people had not had their “first clinical contact” after joining it. In recent years, NHS ministers and bosses have reduced the number of people who have been waiting for 12 or 18 months to worry about their priority.

“There are so many people who have already waited so long without seeing anyone – 3 million invisible patients who did not have their first contact.

“Unless this is treated, you will never reach this goal of seeing and treating patients in the 18 weeks.

“From the government’s point of view, the commitment to return to 18 weeks by 2029 will be really difficult to achieve if this huge group of patients is not seen more quickly.”

“We will never erase the waiting list if we do not fix the point where patients enter the system, and long delays begin,” he added.

The NHS in England recognized the large number of people who had not had NHS care since he joined the waiting list. Of the 7.3 million treatments that patients were waiting for, 4.7 m – almost two thirds (64%) – were intended for people who had not yet had a first consultation with a specialist or a diagnostic test.

And 1.6 m of this 4.7 m had already gone beyond the maximum supposed waiting time of 18 weeks for treatment, he added.

Alison Bennett, spokesperson for liberal-democratic health, said: “These figures are painful. Behind each of these figures is a person suffering, worried about his health and desperately awaits their first contact of a clinician.

“This is not a problem that appeared overnight; it is the direct result of the conservative party poorly managing our NHS for years. It is unacceptable that millions of people are always left in a limbo state, while their conditions are potentially worsening.”

Ministers would “repair” the NHS only if they revised social care to unlock blocked hospitals, she added.

MBI’s analysis also revealed that medical specialties with the greatest number of invisible patients were ear, nose and throat care, orthopedics, eye care, gastroenterology and gynecology. Between 67% and 75% of these waiting lists are made up of these patients, added Mulholland.

The Ministry of Health and Social Coins did not comment on the 3 million invisible patients.

A spokesman said that: “Thanks to the record investment of this government, reforms and hard work of NHS staff, we have reduced the waiting list by more than 260,000 since July 2024, which has also dropped for the first time in 17 years in April and May outside the pandemic.

“This government offers the fundamental reform necessary to reverse the share of our NHS, and our 10 -year health plan will be based on this progress, to ensure that we achieve our goal that 92% of patients are not waiting for more than 18 weeks for treatment by March 2029.”

Mulholland concluded: “If we are refocusing on access to the first contact for limbo patients – and we ensure that high quality data are captured – we can turn the trend, bring the elective list and improve the experience of people waiting for treatment.”