Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 8
8
The C&AG’s Report included two plausible scenarios under which the waiting list will be even...
Conclusion
The C&AG’s Report included two plausible scenarios under which the waiting list will be even longer in 2025 than it was in 2021. One of these scenarios assumed that the NHS would achieve the 30% increase in activity that is now the government’s stated aim. We asked why more could not be done with the additional £8 billion of funding for elective recovery from 2022–23 to 2024–25.17 NHSE&I said there was significant uncertainty about the exact size of the future waiting list due to uncertainty over the rate at which missing referrals returned to seek care and the ongoing impact of COVID-19.18 However, it told us that in its judgement it would be very hard to reduce the size of the overall waiting list by 2025. It explained that it was more confident about reducing the number of very long waiters.19