Daniel Danford, a senior data journalist
The Labour Government has today celebrated the provision of two million additional NHS appointments since it reached power.
Data published by NHS England states the number of specific types of selection operations, outpatient appointments and diagnostic tests performed between the end of July and November 2024, compared with the same period in 2023. It will be done.
We spoke to the NHS, tried to replicate the number, verify and add it, but found it impossible in practice.
What is measured here is a particular list of appointments that were not actually recorded like this. And what the numbers don’t show is what these appointments had to give way to prioritize.
The range of data collected is usually limited to services that include consultant-led referrals for treatment.
This means that it does not include emergency medical care, mental health services, or obstetric treatment. Collectively, these account for a significant proportion of NHS activities, but we are not sure exactly.
The NHS regularly publishes figures on the amount of treatments carried out per month, with data dating back to 2007, but these can be broken down in a way that can be compared to the figures published today. It has not been done.
Prioritization costs money
Looking at the overall figures, we still see improved photos last year, but not the same percentage.
This is not to say that the NHS is massaging numbers or intentionally hiding anything.
These targets were defined from the beginning and achieved according to the specific definitions they were intended.
However, NHS activities for specific purposes are costly.
Not being able to fit on the priority list inevitably falls in pecking order – the wait for records at emergency care revealed last Thursday is further evidence of this.
The NHS offers the choices politicians have made for them, but whether the public agrees that delivery is worth the cost is another matter.
See: Inside the hospital at breakpoint
