More than four million patients are on a “hidden” waiting list for follow-up appointments on top of the 7.2 million in the NHS backlog, new figures reveal. NHS England data seen by the Sunday Express shows the number of people recorded as needing a follow-up hospital appointment related to their initial operation or treatment has risen by a fifth in the past 18 months.
It has gone up from 3.7 million in September 2021, when such records began, to 4.5 million today.
That list, which is not publicly available, includes patients who need post-operation treatment or checks. It also covers those with long-term conditions who need regular follow-ups.
NHS sources point out that the rise in numbers may partly reflect better data collection. The numbers were not even officially reported until September 2021.
They also highlight the fact that a proportion of those 4.5 million needing follow-up appointments may not be overdue because they need to be seen after a set period – for example, to allow a consultant time to assess how a particular treatment is working.
But other insiders say the proportion of those registered as needing a follow-up could also be an underestimate, because only half of hospitals and clinics are currently sending in their data, despite having all been asked.
The figures come after the NHS reported a record 7.22 million on its hospital waiting list in February, which is up from 5.5 million in September 2021.
Under NHS rules, hospitals have to see NHS patients within 18 weeks from referral and risk a fine if they do not.
The huge numbers on the follow-up waiting list have fuelled concern that the drive for hospitals to meet official 18-week targets may mean those on unofficial lists are being de-prioritised.
One senior NHS consultant, who advises NHS England and who asked not to be named, said: “Hospitals are incentivised to see all patients within the 18-week target and the desperate drive to do this means they favour these patients over the follow-up patients.
“This means they may limit or fail to do extra work to reduce the number of follow-up appointments.”
An NHS data analyst, who works in a hospital trust, said: “Since 2020, when activity was deliberately reduced due to the pandemic, we have never caught up.
“That turned the NHS on its head and all protocols and guidance went out of the window. Follow-up patients are a low priority.”
A second data analyst working for the NHS said of the figures: “This reflects the fact that the official waiting list massively underestimates the capacity needed to ensure all NHS patients get the appropriate care they need.” They added the NHS strikes are likely to increase the numbers waiting for initial and follow-up appointments.
An NHS spokesperson stressed that it is wrong to suggest that the follow-up list rise suggested things are getting worse. Many of those on the list are simply waiting for a scheduled appointment, they said.
They added: “It is misleading to use these figures in this way, as any increase is likely due to more NHS providers now submitting data.
“Many of these patients will not be ‘waiting’ or overdue an appointment but instead simply scheduled to have a check-up within a set time frame.”
