Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

NHSLong CovidReturn to work and rehabilitationSickness absence managementOccupational Health

NHS waits hit new record, with A&E under intense pressure

by Nic Paton 17 Jun 2022
by Nic Paton 17 Jun 2022 May saw the second-highest number of A&E attendances ever, at 2.2 million people. Image (pre pandemic): Shutterstock
May saw the second-highest number of A&E attendances ever, at 2.2 million people. Image (pre pandemic): Shutterstock

NHS waiting lists are continuing to lengthen, latest figures have shown, with a record 6.5 million people in England now stuck waiting anxiously for hospital treatment.

The figures from NHS England suggested one in 20 had been waiting for more than a year, with 21% of those urgently referred by their GP to see a cancer specialist in April still waiting more than a fortnight.

The numbers trying to attend accident and emergency also rocketed during May, with the month recording the second-highest number of A&E attendances at 2.2 million, second only to July 2019, when 2.3 million people went to A&E.

It was the busiest May ever for 999 calls answered (853,065) and the most urgent ambulance call outs (77,934 Category 1 calls), said NHS England.

However, NHS England has also pointed out that progress is being made in tackling the post-Covid NHS backlog.

The number of people on the waiting list for diagnostic tests has dropped, it argued, and there are two-thirds fewer people waiting more than two years for elective care.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said: “The new figures show our hard-working NHS staff are making significant progress in ensuring people waiting the longest time for care are getting treated.

Post-Covid NHS waits

Long NHS waits meaning many with long Covid becoming desperate

Consultation on new NHS cancer standards, as waits reach record high

NHS pressures leaving thousands waiting for cancer diagnosis

“There is no doubt the NHS still faces pressures – including a renewed increase in Covid patients –  and the latest figures show just how important community and social care are in helping people in hospital leave when they are fit to do so, not just because it is better for patients but because it helps free up precious NHS bed space,” he added.

Separately, and potentially positively in terms of NHS pressures, more evidence has emerged that the omicron variant of Covid-19 appears less likely to cause long Covid.

A data analysis of 100,000 people by a team from King’s College, London published in The Lancet found just over 4% of those infected during the omicron wave had logged long Covid symptoms. This compared with 10% of those infected in the preceding delta wave, it said.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The research echoes figures from the Office for National Statistics in May, which suggested people double-jabbed against Covid-19 were half as likely to report long Covid symptoms following an omicron infection than if they had caught the delta variant.

The odds of reporting long Covid symptoms four to eight weeks after a first Covid-19 infection were nearly halved (49.7% lower) in infections of the omicron variant than delta variant, though critically this was only among adults who were double vaccinated when infected, it said.

Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consultant editor at Personnel Today. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for Personnel Today and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
Rail strike: Shapps hints again at repeal of agency workers ban
next post
Gatwick Airport cuts flights as staff shortages bite

You may also like

Uncertainty over law hampering legal use of medical...

20 May 2025

Data highlights positive link between group income support...

14 May 2025

Healthcare workers prioritise mental health support in new...

12 May 2025

Why employers must do more to support all...

24 Apr 2025

Half a million more now have access to...

23 Apr 2025

NHS urging people to check for cancer warning...

22 Apr 2025

NHS to expand GP scheme enabling greater access...

16 Apr 2025

Returning to work top concern for employees with...

15 Apr 2025

Access to Work backlogs and delays costing businesses...

14 Apr 2025

NHS could go door-to-door to tackle ill-health worklessness

7 Apr 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today