Press release: People living in the poorest areas waiting longer for hospital treatment
The King’s Fund and Healthwatch England jointly call for urgent action to address hospital waiting lists and improve patients’ experience of delays to treatment .
New analysis from The King’s Fund shows that people living in the most deprived areas in England are nearly twice (1.8 times) as likely to experience a wait of over one year for hospital care than those in the most affluent.
The analysis looks at waiting lists for planned hospital treatment such as knee and hip replacements, cataract surgery and other common procedures.
Healthwatch England has set out recommendations for NHS England based on public feedback it has already received:
- Provide personalised, clear, accurate and consistent communication to people waiting for NHS treatment, consultation and surgery, including where they are on the waiting list;
- Keep people informed about the next steps for their treatment;
- Provide a point of contact for people on waiting lists to turn to for advice and support;
- Put in place interim support, such as physiotherapy, pain relief and mental health support;
- Put in place a system to better manage waiting lists, with a focus on diagnostics to identify what is wrong and better prioritise urgent treatments;
- Re-prioritise treatment if people’s needs change.
