Surgeons left frustrated as hospitals struggle to return routine services to full strength.
The push to tackle the hospital backlog is being undermined by the struggle to get services back to full strength.Instead, the waiting list in England is growing because the NHS is carrying out fewer operations and treatments than it was before Covid, despite a government push to boost capacity.
NHS England data shows that in the past year an average of nearly 254,000 inpatient treatments, including hip and knee replacements, have been performed each month.Outpatient clinics, which include minor procedures, tests and assessments, are down by 6% to just over one million a month on average. Mr Mitchell said there was likely to be a lot of hidden demand out there with people either still staying away or struggling to make it on to the waiting list because of pressure on GP services.Marcus Mansukhani has been waiting for a hernia operation since late 2018.
But Mr Mitchell warned there was still a lack of staff in places to make the most of this investment - he said there were particular problems with theatre nurses and anaesthetists. But she added: "Trusts are working incredibly hard to recover ground lost in tackling care backlogs."
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