By Professor John Robertson
More than 50 days of NHS strikes in England, and counting, the Guardian today reports:
Almost 10 million people across England could be waiting for an NHS appointment or treatment, 2 million more than previously estimated, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics.
The ONS survey of about 90,000 adults found that 21% of patients were waiting for a hospital appointment or to start receiving treatment on the NHS.
When extrapolated, this equates to 9.7 million people. In January, the waiting list stood at 7.6 million, according to official NHS statistics.
The Guardian report does not, of course, offer the figures for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Public Health Scotland, on 27 February 2024 (latest figures), suggests:
At 31 December 2023, there were 525,180 patient waits that were still ongoing.
https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-stage-of-treatment/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times-inpatients-day-cases-and-new-outpatients-quarter-ending-31-december-2023/
With 10 times the population, all things being equal, NHS England might have been expected to have around 5 million patients waiting but had nearly 10 million, twice as many, pro rata.
I confidently suggest that not one single media outlet in Scotland would ever tell you that.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
When talking about waiting lists it should be remembered that every month in Scotland 2-3% of patients scheduled for an operation cancel their appointments. They are then added on again to the Waiting list.
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