The ‘dire’ state of NHS waiting lists was today exposed in fascinating detail with data showing patients in Wales fare far worse than England.
Almost one in 20 patients have been forced to wait over a year for treatment in the Labour-run nation.
It marks a four-fold rise in the space of a decade, illustrating the extent of the crisis which has seen some patients even cashing in pensions and raiding family savings to go private in a bid to beat lengthy NHS queues.
By comparison, the equivalent figure for England stands at just 0.5 patients per 100.
Critics today warned this is what the NHS could look like under Labour-led Government should Sir Keir Starmer‘s party triumph at the General Election.
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting met patients and staff at Bassetlaw Hospital in Nottinghamshire to discuss Labour’s plan to reduce NHS waiting lists if they get into power
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis, the proportion of patients in Wales waiting more than a year for treatment peaked in August 2022, at 5.7 people per 100.
England meanwhile faced its own peak of just 0.8 in August 2021.
This analysis also showed that, overall, as of March 2024 — the latest available data — 21.6 people per 100 are waiting to begin NHS treatment in Wales. Meanwhile, England’s the figure stands at 13 per 100.
A Conservative Party spokesman told MailOnline: ‘In Labour-run Wales, overall waiting records have hit an all-time record high, and patients are nine times as likely as those in England to be waiting more than a year for treatment.
‘The evidence is clear for everyone to see – where Labour are in charge of the NHS, patients are worse off.
‘In contrast, the Conservatives’ bold action has virtually eliminated the longest waits of over 18 months and overall waiting lists are falling at the fastest rate in over a decade outside of the pandemic.’
MailOnline has approached Labour for comment.
The same ONS data also suggested ‘significantly’ more people were waiting for NHS treatment in Wales than the rest of the UK.
Just under a third of survey respondents in Wales (29 per cent) reported they were currently waiting for an NHS waiting appointment, test or treatment between October 2023 and March 2024.
By comparison, the figure stood at a quarter in England and 22 per cent in Scotland.
Differences in how data is collected in Scotland, however, means 52-week waits in the nation are not comparable against England or Wales.
Data is instead recorded for patients waiting at different stages of treatment such as waiting to attend a first outpatient appointment after a referral, or to be admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case.
It comes as data last year showed patients were waiting an average of five weeks longer for NHS treatment in Wales than in England.
Some Welsh patients even reported fleeing to England for treatment due to delays.
Latest NHS England figures, however, show around 6.33 million patients were waiting for 7.57 million treatments by the end of April in England.
This is up from 6.29 million patients and 7.54 million treatments at the end of March.
More than 300,000 people had been waiting for more than a year, compared to less than 2,000 before the pandemic.
Public satisfaction with the NHS overall has also fallen across the UK to its lowest level on record.
Fewer than one in four (24 per cent) people were happy with the health service in 2023, down 5 percentage points on the previous year alone.
According to latest findings from the rolling British Social Attitudes Survey, more than half (52 per cent) are now dissatisfied with the NHS, the highest proportion since the survey began.
The main reasons for dissatisfaction are waiting times for GP and hospital appointments (71 per cent), followed by staff shortages (54 per cent) and the Government not spending enough money on the NHS (47 per cent) — despite record investment.
Source: Mail Online
