Cancellations of NHS care are having serious impacts on two-thirds of patients

The new research, shows that people are currently facing multiple cancellations or postponements of care which are having a significant impact on their lives and symptoms, while further increasing health inequalities.  

Key findings 

• Over one in three, 39%, have had their NHS care cancelled or postponed two or more times this year. This has included hospital operations, tests, scans, outpatient appointments, and community health service appointments.  
• Nearly one in five (18%) of the respondents have had their care cancelled or postponed at the last minute, which the NHS defines as on the day of or on arrival to an appointment. And almost half, 45%, experienced a cancellation with between one- and seven-days notice.  
• Two-thirds of the respondents, 66%, said cancellations to care had impacted their lives, reporting ongoing pain, worsening mental health, worsening symptoms, and disrupted sleep, among many other problems.  

NHS pressures widen existing health inequalities

Disruptions to care disproportionately affect certain groups, widening existing health inequalities. People who have greater health needs are still facing serious barriers to timely care, and they are also more likely to be more affected by cancellations of care. 

• Unpaid carers, 84%, and neurodivergent people, 83%, were more likely to report negative impacts of cancelled care on their lives, followed by people on low incomes, 80%; and those from minority ethnic backgrounds, 75%.  
• Groups who were more likely to have had two or more NHS postponements or cancellations included disabled people, 52%; neurodivergent people, 51%; and people on lower incomes, ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ being affected the most, 49%, respectively. 

Read the findings in full 

Healthwatch CEO Louise Ansari said:

“The findings show that many people are currently facing worsening and, in some cases, catastrophic health impacts due to ongoing delays to care. And addressing health inequalities continues to be a significant challenge for the NHS."

“People who often face serious difficulties accessing specialist NHS care, such as unpaid carers, neurodivergent people, and those on lower incomes, are also those who are suffering the most from ongoing cancellations. If their symptoms worsen or their mental health deteriorates, this in turn puts extra pressure on health and care services."

“While we welcomed the recently announced long-term NHS workforce plan, we need to see action to tackle the cycle of high patient need and ongoing pressures in healthcare now. We urgently need to reduce the number of cancellations of appointments, especially last-minute cancellations, and greater action is needed to address widening health inequalities."   

“With industrial action in the NHS being one of the many factors impacting on people's ability to access timely care, we are also renewing our call for all parties to reach a resolution to mitigate the impact of strikes on patients.”  

Healthwatch calls to action

We are now calling for the NHS to: 

• Collect and publish official data on cancellations to understand what is driving non-clinical, clinical or patient-led reasons for delays; 
• Use this data to reduce the high number of last-minute cancellations; 
• Offer more significant support to those most affected by new delays, especially with mental health needs; and 
• Improve administrative processes and communications to close the gap for those who are left in limbo with no new date. 

We are also renewing our call for all parties in the NHS pay dispute to get back around the table and reach a resolution to mitigate the impact of strikes on people.  

However, industrial action is only one element of pressures on the health service – the impact of the pandemic, staff burnout and inefficient administrative processes will also need to be addressed in the long term to ease the significant impact that postponed or cancelled care has on NHS patients.