How a FIFTH of UK people wait for NHS: Survey shows poor state of healthcare – more than half of country finds it ‘difficult’ to see a GP

A fifth of Britons are waiting for NHS care, official data shows, ahead of what is expected to be the worst winter ever for healthcare.

Thousands of people were asked about their problems accessing health care.

Twenty percent said they were waiting for a hospital appointment, test or medical treatment.

More than half said it was difficult or very difficult to see a GP, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

A fifth of Britons are waiting for an NHS hospital appointment, test or medical treatment, a damning new survey from the Office for National Statistics shows (stock photo of patient undergoing MRI scan).

The poll revealed the dire state of health care, which was hit by its biggest ever strike today.

Up to 100,000 nurses have left dozens of hospitals, successively overpaid.

Thousands of paramedics are set to strike next week, further straining the system with routine pressure.

The survey of 2,542 adults comes after waiting lists in England hit a record high of 7.2 million in October.

Of the millions waiting for NHS care, 26 per cent said they had been queuing for at least six months.

More than 7.2 million patients in England were behind (red line) in October – or one in eight people. More than 400,000 are pending for at least a year (yellow bars)

Cancer performance data shows that only six out of ten cancer patients started treatment in October within two months of an urgent referral from their GP (red line). The figure is the second lowest since records began in 2009. NHS targets said the figure should be at least 85 per cent. This means 5,728 people waited more than eight weeks to start cancer treatment (blue bars).

Meanwhile, more than a third felt that waiting for treatment made their condition worse.

The data also showed how difficult it is to see a GP in person: four out of ten patients only offered telephone appointments, although they wanted an in-person appointment.

Waiting too long for a doctor’s appointment was the second biggest problem affecting people’s health and well-being after having to cut off the heating.

In other related news…

• Everything you need to know about today’s NHS nurses’ strike: How many staff are left? what do you want And will the campaign continue in the new year?
• Don’t fall on the ice today… You could face even worse delays than you feared, TV doctor warns, as devastating NHS strikes begin
• The NHS’s worst week for ambulance transfers: More than 12,500 patients taken to hospital by 999 crews faced delays of more than an HOUR before being treated… as Strep A fears put huge pressure on the crippled 111 teams exercised on calls with an increase of 60 percent