NHS Queues Hit Poorest

Worst-off bear brunt as waiting times soar

- Danya Bazaraa

Poorer patient face longer waits than richer ones for routine NHS care as the pandemic backlog bites, a study shoes.

After 18 months of Covid and a decade of Tory underfunding, waiting lists have hit 5.61 million.

And experts fear the worst off will bear the brunt.

Analysis from the King’s Fund health think-tank shows people living in the most deprived areas in England are 1.8 times as likely to wait over a year for hospital care.