By Dr. Jonathan Shurlock
Edited by Dr Saadia Aslamy
NHS England have released the latest waiting list figures, for the end of August. These have highlighted a further increase in waiting times for cardiac investigations and treatment since July 2023. As of the end of August the number of people on such cardiac waiting lists increased to 406,646 (from 402,793 at the end of July), this is an annual increase of 17% from August 2022.
Ambulance waiting times for category 2 calls (includes suspected heart attacks) have also deteriorated from 32 minutes in July/August to 37 minutes in September. This is concerning for patients and healthcare professionals, particularly in the context of a rapidly approaching winter period.
The government is undergoing further talks with the BMA at present. Resolution of the ongoing pay dispute will likely provide some slowing of the above trends. At the time of writing, all four of the health secretary’s most recent tweets mention robots or artificial intelligence in healthcare, which is of little reassurance.
See the full NHS England data here.
