Failures in the NHS have worried patients in the UK. The NHS has failed to cut waiting times as promised in its recovery plan. The failure is despite billions of pounds in investment. Providing faster tests and treatment has stalled. Far more patients than promised are still waiting more than 18 weeks for non-urgent hospital care. They sometimes must wait for more than a year and more than six weeks for an X-ray or scan.
NHS England had spent £3.24bn setting up community diagnostic centers and surgical hubs. However, it had not achieved the aim of reducing delays. Poor administration drives perceptions of NHS waste.
Failures in the NHS: Long Waiting for Treatment
The NHS has failed to cut waiting times as promised in its recovery plan. Despite billions of pounds in investment, the public accounts committee (PAC) has warned about failures in the NHS. The influential parliamentary committee’s verdict raises serious doubts over whether Labour can fulfil its key pledge to voters to “fix the NHS” by ensuring that patients can once again get hospital care within 18 weeks by 2029. Letters arrived after appointments. They were not informed of treatment waiting times. Chasing test results is not only frustrating but also risks some patients not receiving the care or diagnosis they need on time.
In a scathing report, the cross-party PAC warns that improvements in providing faster tests and treatment have stalled. It criticises Starmer and the health secretary, Wes Streeting, for ordering a costly, unplanned reorganisation of the NHS in England. It said this could damage care and was reminiscent of the shambles surrounding the HS2 rail project.
Patients Waiting for Treatment Despite Billions of Investments
Far more patients than promised are still waiting more than 18 weeks for non-urgent hospital care. They sometimes have to wait for more than a year and more than six weeks for an X-ray or scan. Progress in reducing waiting times appears to have stalled. The total elective care waiting list stands at 7.4 million clinical pathways. This is about 220,000 fewer than when Labour took power in July 2024.
The PAC’s conclusions will alarm ministers. They are keenly aware that the public’s top priority is seeing NHS waiting times fall. Reform UK has recently replaced Labour as the party that voters see as having the best healthcare policies. Rachel Power is the chief executive of the Patients Association charity. She said the PAC’s findings lay bare what patients have felt for over a decade. Despite spending billions, the NHS still isn’t delivering the timely care people urgently need.
Failures in the NHS: Wasted Billions of Investments
The PAC found: NHS England had spent £3.24bn setting up community diagnostic centers and surgical hubs, but had not achieved the aim of reducing delays. In July, 192,000 people had been waiting at least a year for care. This was despite a pledge to solve this problem by March 2025. 22% of patients had to wait more than six weeks for a diagnostic test. However, the NHS promised to cut this waiting time to 5% by March.
The King’s Fund, National Voices, and Healthwatch England conducted new research. They showed that poor administration within the NHS is widespread. It is worse for some people, including those with long-term health conditions and people who are struggling financially. 75% of patients with one or more long-term health conditions experienced an issue with NHS admin in the last year. This compares to 57% of those with no long-term health conditions.
Patients’ Experiences: No Help from NHS
Failures in the NHS have caused many problems for patients. Of those who had used the NHS in the last 12 months, either for themselves or someone they care for, nearly two in every three (64%) said they had experienced at least one issue with NHS admin or poor communication.
The common issues experienced include: 32% of patients have had to chase results following test, scans or X-rays; 32% of patients have not had updated information about how long they have to wait for treatment or care; 23% of patients don’t know who to contact while waiting for care; 20% received an invitation to an appointment after the date of the appointment.
Types of Patients Suffering from Failures in the NHS
As of June, an average of 3.1% of patients living in the most deprived areas had been waiting more than a year to begin treatment, compared with 2.7% in the least deprived areas. Patients from an Asian or British Asian background were more likely to be waiting longer than 18 weeks. The East of England and South-West England had the largest ethnic gap. People waited more than a year to begin hospital treatment in these regions.
Failures in the NHS have impacted people from different groups but to different degrees. Among white British patients, 60.3% received treatment within 18 weeks. This compares with 57% of Bangladeshi patients, and 58.2% of Asian and British Asian groups overall. Women made up a disproportionate percentage of those on the waiting list for NHS treatment, at 57%. They are also more likely to be waiting more than 18 and 52 weeks than men. People of working age (between 19 and 64) are also more likely to wait over a year to start treatment, at 3%, compared with 2.5% of those over 65.
Poor Administration: A Big Problem for the NHS
As well as making some patients less likely to seek care in the future, poor management creates a perception of NHS waste. Those who have experienced at least one problem with NHS Admin over the past year shared their ideas. 61% said that they wasted their money. 56% said waiting for the NHS wasted their time. Moreover, 55% felt that NHS staff time was being wasted.
Patients and carers told researchers how poor admin has led to stress, anxiety, and deteriorating mental health. Many patients described being unable to cancel or reschedule appointments. One person described being automatically discharged from a service after missing an appointment they had been unable to reschedule. Another patient received a text confirming their appointment for 99 January. The King’s Fund, National Voices, and Healthwatch England say they want the government and the NHS to focus on improving patient communication and admin.
Poor Admin Affecting Patients Struggling for Health
Poor administration places the burden on the patient or their family. They often have to resolve problems created by NHS systems. While at the same time, they are struggling with the health condition they need treatment for. This places a particularly heavy burden on disabled people and those who have a sensory impairment.
Julia Cream is a policy fellow at The King’s Fund and co-author of the report. She said the poor administration affecting people is obvious. Today’s results show the day-to-day dysfunction of an NHS that too often fails to meet people’s needs. The results show the deep inequalities people experience when trying to access and engage in health services. Behind these numbers are stories of people who are worried about their health and struggling to get through the NHS’s front door. What is most needed today is deep reform in the managerial system of the NHS. As long as managerial weaknesses persist, no amount of spending can lead to an improvement in patients’ experience.
