Press reports of the wafer-thin reduction in the NHS waiting list in England were divided, with some reports buying the NHS England interpretation that the numbers had reduced for the “fifth month in a row.”
However others were more nuanced. Business news from Bloomberg reported “NHS Waiting Lists Decline, But Still Fall Short of Sunak Promise,” and noted that the 7.2 million on the waiting list when Rishi Sunak promised to cut them has risen to 7.54m according to the most recent figures.
Other reports, including Full Fact and even the Conservatives’ house journal the Daily Telegraph picked up on the less publicised reality, headlining: “NHS waiting list falls again – but only after thousands excluded from data.”
Full story in The Lowdown, 17 April 2024