NHS waiting lists show improvement for the first time in two years

After more than two years of extremely challenging circumstances, there is finally a ray of light at the end of the tunnel for NHS elective care backlogs, according to the latest figures from NHS England.

During the first two months of 2022, the percentage of people waiting over six weeks for a diagnostic scan or test fell by 6%. In February, the number of people waiting for more than a year for treatment fell by 12,000, whilst the number of people waiting over two years fell by over 500.

NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis said: “Despite pressure on various fronts and the busiest winter ever for the NHS, long waits fell as staff continue to tackle two-year waits by July thanks to the innovative approaches to care they are now adopting”.

At the heart of these “innovative approaches” is the significant increase in public-private sector partnerships which we have seen in recent months.

In keeping with the UK Gov’s plan to support the NHS by providing additional funding to tackle elective backlogs, NHS England’s Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance encourages Trusts to achieve this by: “work[ing] closely with independent sector providers to maximise the capacity and services available”.

At Medinet, we are proud to be supporting the NHS recovery by working alongside our NHS partners to provide care for people patiently waiting.?

Our dedicated clinical care teams are currently working with 51 different NHS partners across 22 specialities, supporting NHS Trusts by helping them to reduce elective care waiting lists, fast.?

During the last 3 months, we’ve provided close to 50,000 patients with the care that they need whilst maintaining exemplary clinical standards, reflected in an incident rate of < 0.14%. Medinet provides a high quality, valued service to the NHS, which is why our partners come back to us time and time again.

By working together, we can continue to reduce pressure on NHS services, ease the burden on hardworking NHS staff and end the wait for patients.?