Research Reveals England Lags in Surgery Wait Times

Recent analysis reveals that England’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has lagged behind other high-income countries, particularly in terms of waiting times for surgeries

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on National Health Executive

New waiting time analysis indicates that England is lagging behind other high-income countries in its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Average waiting times for some surgeries rose more substantially compared to other European countries and remained high into 2023.

But what structural vulnerabilities have led to this, and are they a result of the pandemic? Or something that predates it? The report indicates the reduction in hospital beds, lower levels of key staff and lower levels of investment in buildings and equipment.

In the analysis, which looked at the 2017-2023 period specifically, the average waiting times for hip replacements increased from approximately 87 days prior to 2020 to 180 days in 2020. This dropped to 128 days in the subsequent three years but is still 50% longer than the pre-2020 figure. For knee replacements, waits in England stood at 91 days before the pandemic and rose to 209 during 2020. This stabilised at 142 days in the three years after.

Responding to the analysis, Rory Deighton, who is the NHS Confederation’s acute network director, said: “The NHS also entered the pandemic following years of underinvestment, with waiting lists already on the rise. But despite the incredibly hard work of health leaders and their teams the health service has not made the kind of progress on clearing waiting lists as many would have liked. These long waits have a huge impact on patients, who are often waiting in pain or discomfort. But as the analysis points out, stable waiting lists in other countries could mask issues around fewer referrals or more difficult patient access.”

The NHS Confederation also spotlights the industrial action as an influencing factor — it is estimated that 1.5 million appointments and procedures have been cancelled since they began, costing the NHS billions.