According to the Healthwatch watchdog group, over 7.5 million patients in England, have been waiting in line to receive medical attention from medical professionals. Their assessments revealed that, about 385,000 patients have waited for a year to commence their therapy.
Healthwatch further disclosed that, the cancellation or delay of crucial NHS consultations, surgeries, and operations would be having “catastrophic health impacts” on thousands of patients in England.
The watchdog group claimed that, the sudden cancellation of appointments by doctors, have worsened the mental health of patients. Their study further revealed that, those who have been in severe pains, have to cope with the new wave of cancellations and rescheduling.
According to a poll conducted for the Healthwatch, over one third (39%) of patients who have gotten their appointments canceled this year, also had two or more appointments recently postponed or cancelled.
Healthwatch’s survey focused on over 1,084 persons in England, whose appointment have been canceled in 2023. It included patients who have appointments for community health services, outpatient hospital appointments, diagnostic scans, or rescheduled medical tests. The survey was supervised by Yonder Data Solution, on behalf of Healthwatch.
It further stated that, 66% of patients claimed the cancellation of appointments have had impact on them. They cited discomfort, worsening symptoms, deteriorating mental health, and sleeplessness.
Also, 79% claimed the NHS provided “very little” or “no support” to their mental health, and over 52% indicated they never received assistance in managing their health problems, during the new wait for care.
Moreover, the study disclosed that, about 18% of respondents claimed their appointment was changed last-minute, either the day to the appointment, or as they were heading there.
In 2022-2023 health season, there have been a total of 77,266 sudden cancellations of scheduled surgeries of patients. Other data suggests that, strike actions over the previous eight months have amounted to 819,000 cancellations of doctors’ appointments, surgeries and treatments.
The research was revealed the day after junior doctors in England planned a new round of strike actions in August, which could result to additional tens of thousands operations being delayed or rescheduled.
In response to the ongoing salary dispute with the government, the British Medical Association announced that junior physicians in England will go on a four-day strike. As a show of solidarity, newly employed junior doctors, may be forced to participate in the upcoming August strikes.
Healthwatch further insinuate that, several groups have been affected significantly by the termination and rescheduling of appointments. Among them are neurodivergent persons, low-income individuals, caregivers, and people from ethnic minorities.
Healthwatch Chief Executive Officer, Louise Ansari, stated that, the statistics explain the deterioration nature of health conditions of some patients, as a result of the recent wave of strikes by medical professionals.
“The findings of our research show that many people are currently facing worsening and, in some cases, catastrophic health impacts due to ongoing delays to care. And addressing health inequalities continues to be a significant challenge for the NHS. People who often face serious difficulties accessing specialist NHS care, such as unpaid carers, neurodivergent people, and those on lower incomes, are also those who are suffering the most from ongoing cancellations.
If their symptoms worsen or their mental health deteriorates, this in turn puts extra pressure on health and care services. We urgently need to reduce the number of cancellations of appointments, especially last-minute cancellations, and greater action is needed to address widening health inequalities. With industrial action in the NHS being one of the many factors impacting people’s ability to access timely care, we are also renewing our call for all parties to reach a resolution to mitigate the impact of strikes on patients.”
Louise Ansari, Chief Executive of Healthwatch.
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