DEVASTATING HEALTH COST OF LOCKDOWN LAID BARE 330,000

Mail audit reveals fewer hospital admissions for cancer, heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, dementia and mental illness since March 2020

THE devastating health costs of lockdown are today laid bare by figures showing a huge drop in hospital treatment for the most serious non-Covid conditions.

In the 12 months since March 2020, there were 330,000 fewer hospital admissions for cancer, heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, dementia and mental health conditions compared with the previous year.

This is a fall of 15 per cent – but prior to March last year, admissions for those six disease types had been broadly rising due to the ageing population and obesity.

Health policy experts warned that the ‘missed’ admissions had led to avoidable deaths and harm. They said many patients waiting for care were in pain and ‘seriously in need of treatment’.

The biggest drop was for cancer, with 285,413 fewer hospital admissions between April 2020 and March 2021 compared with the previous year, NHS Digital data shows.

Across the 12 months, cancer admissions fell by an average of 17 per cent.

They dropped by a third in April and May 2020 and then again by 22 per cent in January 2021, when the restrictions were at their most severe.

These admissions include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well as scans and consultations to diagnose tumours.

‘Survival rates could go backwards’

Admissions may also cover A&E visits, and can mean multiple visits by one patient.

The Mail’s analysis shows the extent to which the restrictions have affected nonvirus illnesses, with potentially life-threatening consequences.

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund think-tank, said: ‘Any delays in people seeking or receiving treatment are concerning, but even more important is the real impact these delays have on people’s lives.

‘Understandably, there is now growing concern of increasing numbers of avoidable strokes, heart attacks and deaths from cancer in the coming years if these missed or delayed treatments are not made up for.’

John Appleby, director of research at the Nuffield Trust think-tank, said: ‘The NHS tried hard to keep the most urgent operations for conditions like cancer going and often succeeded, but at the worst of the pandemic even these services were swamped in some places – and many less urgent operations that were delayed still had a serious impact on quality of life.’

He said a ‘shadow waiting list’ now exists, comprising patients who have not yet been referred by their GP or have not yet seen a professional at all, adding: ‘Many will be in pain and seriously need treatment.’

Michelle Mitchell, head of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘We’re starting to see signs of recovery in cancer services, with more people now being referred for cancer tests than before the pandemic.

‘But with tens of thousands of people left undiagnosed or waiting for tests and treatment, a huge effort is still needed to clear the backlog as swiftly as possible. Without this, the UK faces the prospect of cancer survival going backwards for the first time in decades.’

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, of the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘The risk of dying from an untreated heart attack is far higher than the risk of complications or death from developing the virus in hospital.’

Rachel Power, head of the Patients Association, noted how many patients found it difficult to get a referral when they wanted one. She said: ‘Undoubtedly some patients have delayed seeking treatment during the pandemic, either for fear of burdening the NHS or out of nervousness about catching Covid-19. But our research shows that it has been more common for patients to seek care but struggle to get it... patients have struggled to access GP services in particular.’

In total, the NHS Digital data shows there were 329,224 fewer hospital admissions across the six illnesses between April 2020 and

March 2021 compared with the previous year.

Experts believe the drop in admissions was partly caused by patients being too scared to see their GP or believing their surgery was closed to all but the most urgent cases. Patients were also reluctant to go to A&E or dial 999 – and all of these factors led to fewer hospital admissions.

At the same time, hospitals scaled back operations, consultant clinics and treatments even for life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart attacks and strokes.

Across the board, admissions had not returned to pre-pandemic levels by March 2021, the latest month for which figures are available.

Dementia admissions were particularly badly affected last year, falling by 46 per cent in April.

The NHS dementia chief, Professor Alistair Burns, said up to 50,000 new dementia cases may have been missed.

Stroke admissions, meanwhile, dropped by 16 per cent in April 2020 and then again by 11 per cent in February.

And for diabetes patients, admissions fell by 36 per cent in April last year and by a further 15 per cent in January.

The hospital admissions data mostly includes planned care such as surgery, scans or consultations but it may also cover A&E visits. Admissions can count as the same patient going to hospital on more than one occasion.

The drop in treatments means the NHS is now facing an enormous backlog.

Figures show there are a record 5.1million on the waiting list, including 2,700 who have been waiting for at least two years.

‘Reluctant to dial 999’