Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Waiting list for NHS tests increased by 22 times in two years

Waiting list for NHS tests increased by 22 times in two years

THERE was a 22 times increase this year in the number of people waiting more than three months for NHS tests when compared to 2019 mainly due to the backlog created by the pandemic, The Guardian reported.

Almost 124,000 patients are waiting more than three months for NHS tests including MRIs, colonoscopies, and heart scans in England with overall waiting lists doubling in some parts, the report added.


It is a slight fall from the May 2021 figure, which stood at just over 127,000. The figure was just 5,675 in 2019.

People referred to hospitals for tests are supposed to be treated within six weeks, according to NHS England’s constitution.

But more than 306,000 people were waiting more than six weeks for a range of diagnostic tests.

This is 7.6 times the equivalent figure in the same month in 2019, but lower than in June 2020 when 539,433 people were waiting six weeks or more, The Guardian report added.

The overall waiting list for tests in June this year was 1.4 million patients, an increase of 28 per cent compared with June 2019.

“GPs do not refer patients for diagnostic testing unless absolutely necessary in order to make a formal diagnosis. So, when we put this into perspective, such a drastic estimated increase in the diagnostic waiting list represents a healthcare crisis. Behind these figures are patients who are left waiting far too long for a diagnosis and therefore treatment," Dr Richard Vautrey, the chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, told The Guardian.

“Evidence tells us that for conditions such as cancers, early diagnosis and subsequent treatment can have a significant impact on a patient’s chance of survival."

Dr Vautrey added that the government should urgently develop a credible strategy to tackle waiting lists, ensuring that there are adequate facilities for patients to be referred into.

According to the report, there were just over 2,800 patients in June 2019 waiting for tests at Wye Valley NHS trust. The number for June 2021 was 7,160.

The number at Stockport NHS foundation trust was increased from 4,260 patients on waiting lists in 2019 to 10,467 in 2020.

A spokesperson for Wye Valley NHS trust said it had put measures in place – including the recent addition of extra scanners on the hospital site – to increase diagnostic capacity and reduce the number of patients waiting for investigations.

A Greater Manchester health and social care partnership said Stockport and other trusts had a range of measures in place to see patients waiting for a diagnostic test as quickly as possible, including clinically prioritising urgent cases and running weekend clinics.

More than half of all patients waiting more than six weeks across England require one of three tests: non-pregnancy-related ultrasounds, “echo” scans – used to detect potential heart failure and congenital heart disease – or MRIs.

Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said it was clear that the pandemic had “disrupted every aspect of the delivery of healthcare”.

“To reduce waiting lists the NHS needs to deliver care at a faster rate than patients are presenting with new need or needs they’ve been keeping to themselves throughout successive lockdowns. To be able to do that it needs strong leadership and more resources – human and financial," she told the newspaper.

A spokesperson for NHS England has said that treating more than 400,000 seriously ill Covid patients had inevitably had an impact on other parts of the health service.

“Latest figures also show that average waiting time for a diagnostic test has fallen to less than three weeks, and the number of patients waiting six weeks or more has dropped by more than a third since this time last year," the spokesperson said.

More For You

Ed-Miliband

Miliband’s Delhi visit this week is aimed at increasing UK clean energy investment opportunities and placing British businesses at the forefront of the global race for renewables.

Miliband pushes clean energy ties in India

SECRETARY of state for energy security and net zero, Ed Miliband, arrived in New Delhi on Monday (10) for the fourth UK-India Energy Dialogue and to promote UK business interests at the India Energy Week global exhibition.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the aim of the visit is to unlock economic growth from clean energy transition, support new jobs, create export opportunities and tackle the climate crisis in partnership with India.

Keep ReadingShow less
Salman Rushdie

Rushdie was stabbed about 15 times: in the head, neck, torso and left hand, blinding his right eye and damaging his liver and intestines. (Photo: Getty Images)

Rushdie attack trial begins as jurors shown graphic details

JURORS heard how a knife attack on novelist Salman Rushdie unfolded in a matter of seconds at a 2022 New York talk and how close he came to death, in the prosecutor's opening statement on Monday (10) at the trial of the man accused of trying to murder the author.

A poet introducing the talk, on the subject of keeping writers safe from harm, was barely into his second sentence when defendant Hadi Matar bounded onto the Chautauqua Institution open-air stage and made about 10 running steps towards a seated Rushdie, Chautauqua District Attorney Jason Schmidt told the jury.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Yvette-Cooper-Getty

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said employers had for too long been able to "exploit illegal migrants and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken". (Photo: Getty Images)

Immigration arrests up 73 per cent in January

UK immigration enforcement teams made more than 600 arrests in January, a 73 per cent increase on the same period a year ago, as part of the Labour government's plan to tackle undocumented migration and people smuggling gangs, officials said on Monday (10).

The 609 arrests, compared to 352 in January 2024, were made during visits to 800 premises including nail bars, restaurants, car washes and convenience stores, a government statement said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi-Macron

Modi and Macron will also hold discussions in restricted and delegation-level formats and address the India-France CEO’s Forum. (Photo: X/@narendramodi)

Modi meets Macron and JD Vance in Paris

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was welcomed by French president Emmanuel Macron at a dinner at the Élysée Palace in Paris. Macron greeted Modi with a hug as they met on Monday.

"Delighted to meet my friend, President Macron in Paris," Modi posted on X.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harshita Brella

The body of the 24-year-old was discovered in the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, on November 14 last year.

Harshita Brella’s family seeks answers as fundraiser launched

AN ASIAN solicitor and businessman has set up a fund in memory of Harshita Brella, who was found murdered in east London in November last year.

The Harshita Brella Memorial Fund, organised by Amrit S Maan OBE JP, aims to support her family as they seek answers about her death.

Keep ReadingShow less