Record NHS waiting lists for routine diagnostic tests are creating a “two-tier health service” and a bonanza for private healthcare firms as increasing numbers of patients choose to pay rather than wait, Labour has warned.
The most recent official statistics show a record 1,367,706 people waiting for tests include MRI and CT scans in June – 2.5 per cent up on the previous month, which itself set a record.
The figures emerged as the final details were being thrashed out for a funding package to help the NHS in England deal with the aftermath from the Covid pandemic, which has seen waiting lists soar to 5 million people overall, with predictions that the number could peak as high as 15m over the coming years.
Despite chancellor Rishi Sunak’s promise that the NHS would get “whatever it needs”, reports suggest the settlement could be close to £5bn – roughly half what health service bosses in NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation believe is needed.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told The Independent that record waiting lists were forcing some patients into debt in order to pay for private treatment to escape “unacceptable” uncertainty in the NHS.
He pointed to a recent report from business intelligence firm Laing Buisson, which stated: “While the NHS has faced challenges in restarting elective treatment, self-pay is looking attractive even if currently wait times are longer than usual.”
For seven out of 15 diagnostic tests, waiting lists are now at record levels, said Mr Ashworth.
These included 275,436 waiting for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, compared to 202,893 at the end of 2019, and 447,993 awaiting a non-obstetric ultrasound, up from 342,143 over the same period.
Some 163,265 were waiting for CT scans (up from 135,429) and 142,408 for echocardiography tests (up from 84,234).
Mr Ashworth said: “The numbers of patients waiting longer for tests and scans reveals the scale of the crisis the NHS is now in.
“Waiting lists for treatment and surgery are at record levels and thousands now queue for diagnosis. It means more unacceptable pain, agony and uncertainty for patients.
“Meanwhile private healthcare firms predict a boom in profits on the back of this suffering as increasing numbers who can afford it turn to the private sector to jump the queue while others fall into debt to pay for an operation because they can no longer bear the wait on the NHS.
“Thanks to years of Tory underfunding, staff shortages and cuts, a two-tier health service is opening up eroding the founding principles of the NHS as a universal service for all. A rescue plan for the NHS is now more urgent than ever.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to making sure the NHS has everything it needs to continue providing quality care to the public as we tackle the waiting lists that have built up during the pandemic.
“This year alone, we have already provided a further £29 billion to support health and care services, including an extra £1 billion to tackle the backlog.
“We are backing the NHS to deliver the appointments, operations and treatment people need, and have invested a further £325 million to replace diagnostics equipment and set up Community Diagnostic Hubs to deliver 3.5 million more tests by 2022-23, reducing pressure on other services and ensuring more people can be seen more quickly.”
