And some patients faced with lengthy waiting lists say they have to pay for heart operations that can cost as much as £20,000. The NHS waiting list in England has ballooned to 5.3 million, including nearly 4,000 patients who have been waiting for two years. This includes operations on the heart and chest such as heart bypass operations. She said: "There is definitely a relationship between NHS waiting times – not just for surgery, for diagnostic tests – and people seeking to self-fund. He said: “My biggest fear is that we will end up with such huge pressure to reduce waiting lists that we will lose the focus on safety and quality."

Source: Daily Mirror August 02, 2021 01:06 UTC