Since the pandemic, the size the NHS waiting list has been in the headlines almost constantly. At the start of 2023, Rishi Sunak committed to decreasing the size of the waiting list as one of his ‘five priorities’, and since then it has actually gone up.

So today, we’re going to dive into the NHS waiting list what is it? How big is it? And is there a credible plan to get it back down?

Joining us to answer those questions are Ben Zaranko and Max Warner, IFS economists who have recently published a report on the NHS waiting list.

Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/nhswaiti...

00:00 1:39: Intro
1:40 4:35: What is the waiting list?
4:36 5:51: The composition of the waiting list
5:52 7:45: How big is the waiting list?
7:46 12:57: How long are people waiting?
12:58 16:53: Performance against targets
16:54 17:50: Cancer treatment times
17:51 21:20: How COVID affected appointments
21:21 25:15: Why are waiting lists going up?
25:16 28:16: The impact of strikes
28:17 31:20: Capital investment
31:21 35:16: Variations in hospital performance
35:17 39:36: Will the NHS get waiting lists down?
39:36 41:16: Conclusion