NHS England expected services to return to pre-pandemic levels by early 2022/2023 and hoped around 30% more treatments could be offered by 2024/25 - but this would be a 'historic feat' and need 'a rate of growth not seen in recent times', a report has concluded.
Health bosses hoped that by March next year, the number of patients waiting more than two months for an urgent cancer care referral would return to pre-pandemic levels.But even if progress is made, people could still face long waits, the NAO report found.NHS England figures show that waiting times for routine hospital treatment have reached another record high at 7.1m
NHS England believes this could avoid a total of 1.7 million outpatient appointments in 2022/23 - 1.1 million more than in 2019/2020. NHS England has set a target for a minimum 25% reduction in outpatient follow-up appointments by March 2023.Productivity slump is a 'serious problem' Productivity was also affected by COVID-19 infection control measures impacting operating theatre capacity and cancellations, together with a"reduced management focus by NHS trusts and NHS England on cost control and operational rigour".
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