Your report highlighted the Institute for Fiscal Studies’s “central scenario” that the waiting list for operations would “start to fall consistently but slowly from the middle of 2024”, but remain as high as 6.5 million by December 2027 (NHS waiting lists falling but will stay above pre-Covid levels until 2030, IFS says, 29 February). The authors point out that the waiting list will still be higher than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.
More than half of respondents (56%) to our recent census of the surgical workforce said that access to operating theatres is a major challenge. If political leaders are serious about helping the millions of people left languishing in pain and uncertainty on waiting lists, they need to put forward a fully funded plan that increases NHS capacity.
The Royal College of Surgeons of England has campaigned for more surgical hubs in every area of the country to help patients whose lives have effectively been in limbo while they wait months, or even years, for a planned operation. Frontline staff are under considerable pressure and committed to doing all they can to reduce long waits. The government must meet them in the middle.
Investment in operating theatres and surgical hubs is key to getting the health service back on track. The upcoming budget needs to reflect a commitment to funding this effort.
Tim Mitchell
President, Royal College of Surgeons of England
