NHS Blog: House of Commons report 2017 reveals state of NHS England: Statistics on waiting times, beds, and GP and Nurse numbers

By T.J. Coles

9 October 2017

A recent House of Commons Library paper, which can be read here, says of NHS England:

*Number of beds has fallen 5.4% as admissions rose. The use of one-day beds are up by 15.5%.

*Trolley waits for admission went from 513 (daily average) in the year 2013 to 1,491 by 2017.

*The waiting list for consultant-led treatment includes 3.85 million people, a 25% rise in three years.

*Despite a rise in life-threatening calls, ambulance response times have not been met.

*The number of GPs and nurses has fallen but the number of hospital doctors and ambulance staff rose.

*Delayed transfers have increased over 3 years.

*Cancer referrals and MRI scans are up.

It also says that transfer delays have mostly affected people awaiting care packages in their home (up 53%).Waiting for nursing home placements has increased 35%. It goes on say that four-hour waiting times are comparable to 2016’s data but have ‘grown substantially since 2011’.

SOURCE: Carl Baker, NHS Indicators: England, October 2017, House of Commons Library,

3 October 2017.

Dr T.J. Coles is the author of The Great Brexit Swindle (2016, Clairview Books).