Surgeons

Read our analysis on NHS waiting lists.

The number of people waiting for NHS treatment in England has risen rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 7.2 million incomplete treatment pathways in December 2022.

The graph below shows the size of the NHS waiting list since comparable records began in August 2007. It shows a particular rise in the number of people waiting more than 18 weeks, the NHS waiting target.

    While the number of people waiting has risen by more than 2 million since the start of the pandemic, this is much less than the amount of care that was missed.

    You can read our previous analysis of what could explain these missing patients, and what could happen to waiting lists in the coming years, below.

    Analysis

    NHS waiting room

    What next for NHS waiting lists?

    event 8 February 2023 at 10:30
    One year on from the NHS elective recovery plan, this event provided new analysis of waiting lists and reflected on the challenges ahead.
    Nurses striking

    The state of the NHS

    podcast
    In this episode, we take a look at the state of the NHS across a range of areas.

    8 February 2023

    Pressures on the NHS

    book chapter
    In this chapter, we assess the NHS’s starting point, in terms of its funding, resources and performance on the eve of the pandemic. We then turn to the pandemic-related pressures on the NHS over the next few years, and assess the adequacy of the government’s latest funding announcement by comparing it with our assessments of the scale of NHS funding pressures.

    10 September 2021

    Ambulance

    Could NHS waiting lists really reach 13 million?

    comment

    This observation looks at how the numbers in England on the NHS waiting list changed before and during the pandemic and discusses the key factors that will affect how much they will grow in the near future.

    8 August 2021

    Fiscal Studies cover

    The wider impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the NHS

    journal article

    This paper discusses likely implications for healthcare delivery in the short and medium term of the responses to the coronavirus pandemic, focusing primarily on the implications for non‐coronavirus patients.

    3 June 2020

    Previous event

    NHS waiting room

    What next for NHS waiting lists?

    event 8 February 2023 at 10:30
    One year on from the NHS elective recovery plan, this event provided new analysis of waiting lists and reflected on the challenges ahead.

      Authors

      George Stoye
      George Stoye

      Deputy Director

      George is a Deputy Director and leads IFS work on healthcare.

      Max Warner
      Max Warner

      Research Economist

      Max joined the IFS in 2020 as a research economist in the Healthcare Sector, with a focus on the NHS labour force and adult social care in England.

      Ben Zaranko
      Ben Zaranko

      Associate Director

      Ben joined the IFS in 2017 and works across a range of areas, including UK fiscal policy and the productivity of the health and social care system.

      Paul Johnson
      Paul Johnson

      Director

      Paul has been the Director of the IFS since 2011. He is also currently visiting professor in the Department of Economics at University College London.

      Collection details

      Publisher
      Institute for Fiscal Studies

      Grant

      ESRC Institute for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy

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