NHS's 'worst heart care crisis in living memory' exposed: Number of patients ... trends now
NHS waiting lists for patients battling serious heart problems have soared five-fold in the wake of the pandemic, grim figures show.
More than 163,000 patients in England have endured treatment delays of at least 18 weeks.
This is up on the 32,000 in February 2020 – the month before Covid rocked Britain – and double the 87,000 in February 2022.
NHS guidelines state that 92 per cent of patients should be treated within 18 weeks of being referred.
Charities say the NHS is suffering its 'worst heart care crisis in living memory', with medics worried patients stuck in the backlog could suffer heart attacks and strokes while awaiting vital treatment.
While some warning signs are easy to spot — such as severe chest pain — others are more vague and hard to pinpoint
Cardiologists today labelled the fresh figures 'shocking' and called for 'bold action' to prioritise lifesaving heart care.
Latest health service data shows cardiac waiting lists overall also rose to 408,548 in February.
The record high of 409,541 was set in September 2023.
It comes despite overall waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England falling for the fifth month in a row, due to a technicality.
More than 7.54million procedures like hip replacements and cataract surgery were waiting to be carried out at the end of February.
Around 4.4m treatments were booked in the system when the virus reached the UK. Queues hit a record 7.8m in September.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: 'It's shocking to see that heart care waiting lists have risen for the third month in a row despite overall waiting lists falling.
'Timely heart treatment isn't a luxury that people can live without.
'Long waits can put people at risk of avoidable heart attacks, heart failure and even premature death.'
She added: 'Extreme and ongoing pressures on NHS heart care alongside Covid are amongst several factors that contributed to 39,000 premature deaths involving cardiovascular disease in 2022.
'We need to see bold action to prioritise lifesaving NHS heart care and put an end to these agonising waits.'
Patients on the cardiac list are waiting for procedures such as open heart surgery, including bypasses and having stents or pacemakers fitted.
Some have already had a heart attack or stroke, and need specialist cardiac care to reduce the risk of them suffering any further deterioration.
Rishi Sunak yesterday admitted progress on slashing NHS waiting lists wasn't as quick 'as I would like'.
