Routine hospital treatment admissions were down by 47% in February compared with the same month in 2020.
Charities and health organisations have warned the COVID-19 pandemic is having a “catastrophic” impact on NHS services – as the number of people in England waiting to start hospital treatment hits a new record high.
A total of 4.7 million were waiting to begin treatment at the end of February 2021 – the largest figure since records began in August 2007, according to NHS England data.
The number of people waiting more than 52 weeks to start treatment was at 387,885 in February, a figure not reached since December 2007.
In February 2020, that number was just 1,613.
The number of people admitted for routine hospital treatment was down by 47% in February compared with a year earlier – with 152,642 admitted in February 2021 and 285,918 in February 2020, which had an extra day as it was a leap year.
In January, the year-on-year decrease was 54% while in December 2020 it dropped by 25%.
Sara Bainbridge, head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said the data “further illustrates the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on cancer diagnosis and treatment”.
She added: “Tens of thousands of people are still missing a diagnosis due to disruption caused by the pandemic, which could affect their prognosis.”
Boris Johnson has said he has “no doubt” a backlog of 4.7 million people waiting to start NHS treatment in England can be tackled.
https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-has-no-doubt-record-4-7m-nhs-treatment-list-backlog-can-be-tackled-12276297
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