There are now more than 9.2m people waiting for treatment on the NHS across the four nations of the UK, according to analysis of the latest government data.
This is an increase of 3.6m since the start of the pandemic three years ago, and an increase of 1.1m over the past year.
The majority of these patients are in England — which has by far the highest population of the four nations. In total the NHS waiting list in England now stands art 7.3m — an increase of around 3m since the pandemic, while in Scotland and Wales the backlog has almost doubled.
Employee benefit consultancy Broadstone analysed figures published by the individual nations. Broadstone head of health and protection Brett Hill says: “We have all read with growing concern the reports of our deteriorating public health system coming out of the four home nations. Taken together, the picture is bleak. Many millions have joined a huge waiting list for treatment since the pandemic and the numbers are still rising despite national and devolved governments pledging to reduce the backlog.”
Broadstone pointed out that as these waiting lists have risen, a total of 99,000 more people have become economically inactive in the UK due to ill-health in the six months to the end of April 2023. The number of people now out of work due to ill health now stands at 2.6 million, almost half a million more people that a comparable figure from before the pandemic.
Meanwhile the latest data shows that the total number of private healthcare admission in 2022 was the highest since records began at 820,000, up 5 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.
The knock-on impact of a struggling public health system is now being felt by businesses throughout the UK, according to Hill. “The problems in the health service cannot be taken in isolation. They have a tangible impact in people’s everyday lives, including their professional careers.
“Businesses are now starting to recognise the need to invest in the health and wellbeing of their staff to avoid the problems that economic inactivity due to sickness causes them, especially in such a tight labour market.
“The ability to support workers with private healthcare options, for example, means that employers can keep their staff fit, healthy and productive while avoiding absenteeism. Given the pressures in the NHS seem unlikely to abate in the near-term we expect to see further demand for private health options through the rest of 2023 and beyond.”
