NAO 1 December 2021
- This report looks in detail at backlogs and waiting times for elective and cancer care in the NHS in England. It explains how the current increased backlogs and waiting times have arisen, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The report sets out:
- how waiting times performance for elective and cancer care are tracked in the NHS, and how long patients have been waiting relative to the performance standards;
- the causes of increasing longer waits before the pandemic and the disruption caused by the pandemic; and
- the steps the Department and NHSE&I have already taken to address the increasing backlogs and waiting times, and the constraints and challenges the NHS faces in making a full recovery.
- The NAO intends to follow this report with a second one, which will describe the NHS’s plans to improve this situation and evaluate its early progress.
