Much was made of the quarter of a million people who “queued to see the queen” when the late monarch was lying in state, but those waiting to start treatment on the NHS are 27 times that number
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskIn August a person in England who suffered a stroke or a serious burn waited an average of 43 minutes for an ambulance. That is almost two-and-a-half times the government target of 18 minutes. “Dental deserts” stretch across large swathes of the country; waiting times in accident-and-emergency departments are at record highs .
Then there are the unknown numbers of people yet to be diagnosed or treated because of backlogs caused by the pandemic. Given the current waiting-list, doctors are detecting cancers later. This makes treatments more complex and prognoses gloomier. Data released in September showed that during the first few months of the pandemic, the number of deaths from prostate cancer tripled. Such figures may get worse before they get better.