Surgeons: NHS needs funding for reform and expanded surgical capacity

NHS England referral to treatment (RTT) waiting times for consultant-led elective care have remained stable in February 2024. The total waiting list reduced by around 36,000 to 7.54 million, however a change to recording of community service pathways, which means they will no longer be reported in RTT data sets, accounts for the fall. 

Some patients are on multiple pathways. The number of unique patients is estimated to be around 6.3 million, according to NHS England. Patients will be waiting for orthopaedic operations such as hip and knee replacements and general surgeries such as hernia repairs and gallbladder removal. Some patients will also be waiting for surgery to remove cancerous tumours.

Responding to today’s performance data, Professor Peter Friend, Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) said:

“Waiting lists are falling, but not fast enough. That is not good for patients. Long waits can lead to further problems, pain, infections, and a reduced quality of life.

“It’s an election year - so we need much more clarity on how the political parties plan to support the NHS.   We need more efficient surgical capacity.  The roll-out of surgical hubs needs to continue.

“Funding reform and expanding capacity are vital to ensuring patients aren’t left languishing on waiting lists. It’s time political parties set out concrete plans for how they will do this.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. NHS performance statistics on referral to treatment waiting times published today are available here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2023-24/ 
2. RCS England has previous called for additional general and acute ‘core’ beds opened in 2023/24 to be retained year-round: https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/news-and-events/media-centre/press-releases/surgeons-call-for-more-beds/   
3. There were 7,539,716 RTT pathways where a patient was waiting to start treatment at the end of February 2024. Some patients are on multiple pathways. The number of unique patients is estimated to be around 6.3 million. According to NHS England, this is based on analysis of the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS), which showed that the ratio of unique NHS numbers to pathways on 3 March 2024 was 83:100. The WLMDS extract was taken on 4 April 2024, which includes data up to 24 March 2024.
4. The Royal College of Surgeons of England provides world-class education, assessment, and development to 30,000 surgeons, dental professionals, and members of the wider surgical and dental care teams, at all stages of their careers. Our vision is to see excellent surgical care for everyone. We do this by setting professional standards, facilitating research and championing the best outcomes for patients.
5. For more information, please contact the RCS England press office: telephone: 020 7869 6054/6047; email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; out-of-hours media enquiries: 0207 869 6056.