Figures show large rise in people dying while on NHS waiting list (UK)

Figures show large rise in people dying while on NHS waiting list (UK)(theguardian.com)

10 points by Schroedingers2c 2 years ago | 2 comments

iamds 2 years ago |

'The figures do not specify how people died, or whether the death was related to the care they were expecting from the NHS. The data also does not contain ages or medical conditions' This is a mischievous use of statistics

If an eighty year-old dies from a heart condition while waiting for an appointment at their local hearing clinic, they make this list

All this data really tells us is that the NHS is underfunded and badly managed, leading to backlogs and delays in treatment

Which is already obvious to everyone

Fluorescence 2 years ago | |

> All this data really tells us is that the NHS is underfunded and badly managed

It doesn't even tell us this. The metric could increase if you e.g. treat more conditions, treat older/sicker people that you used to, improve health education/screening to identify more at risk people that used to die before any diagnosis etc.