Fifteen hospital trusts across England each have more than 200 patients waiting longer than a year for heart procedures, NHS figures reveal. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) warns that heart care waiting lists are now at a record high , reaching 414,596 at the end of March 2024 in England, almost double what it was in 2020. The number of people waiting longer than a year for heart tests and treatments has risen to 10,893.
Four years ago, the figure was just 53. Chart: The heart care waiting list is at a record high, nearly doubling in three years Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the BHF, said: “I find it profoundly disturbing that record-breaking numbers of heart patients are on the waiting list and that they are waiting longer than ever. “This bucks the trend of overall waiting lists falling when we know that heart care can’t wait.
Not getting the right heart test, treatment or surgery at the right time could lead to an avoidable heart attack, incurable heart failure or someone dying prematurely.” NHS England says it is working to reduce the longest waits for patients. The most recent waiting list figures for March show 974 patients at University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust waiting longer than a year for cardiology services; 526 patients waiting longer than a year at West Hertfordshire teaching hospitals NHS trust; and 454 patients waiting longer than a year at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS foundation trust.
An analysis by the BHF publish.
