The devastating impact of the lockdown on the nation’s health is laid bare tonight.
Shocking figures reveal that admissions for seven deadly non-coronavirus conditions between March and June fell by more than 173,000 on the previous year.
The NHS Digital data for England shows there were nearly 6,000 fewer admissions for heart attacks in March and April compared with last year, and almost 137,000 fewer cancer admissions from March to June.
Analysis by the Daily Mail found that the trends were alarmingly similar across the board for patients who suffered strokes, diabetes, dementia, mental health conditions and eating disorders.
Admissions can count the same patient going into hospital more than once.
Pictured: Kelly Smith and son Finn. Kelly Smith, 31, died from bowel cancer after her chemotherapy treatment was paused during the height of the coronavirus pandemic
Health experts said the statistics were ‘troubling’ and warned that many patients may have died or suffered longterm harm as a result.
Gbemi Babalola, senior analyst at the King’s Fund think-tank said: ‘People with some of the most serious health concerns are going without the healthcare they desperately need.
‘Compared with the height of the pandemic, the NHS is seeing an increase in the number of patients as services restart, and significant effort is going into new ways to treat and support patients.
‘But the fact remains that fewer people are being treated by NHS services.’
Cancer Research UK chief executive Michelle Mitchell added: ‘Sadly the Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on cancer services and the lives of cancer patients and we’re still not even close to knowing what the longterm repercussions could be.’
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation and a consultant cardiologist, said: ‘These troubling statistics again show us that people have delayed seeking care for their heart attack, risking death or long-term heart damage.’
Sarah Scobie, deputy director of research at the Nuffield Trust think-tank, said: ‘The pandemic led to an understandable but extreme slowdown of non-Covid health services across the board.
‘Sadly there will be unintended consequences of restrictions to accessing services and people choosing not to seek hospital treatment.’
The Mail’s analysis is the first to assess the fall in hospital admissions during the lockdown across a wide range of major health conditions.
The figures come as the country is once again imposing tight restrictions following a resurgence in virus cases.
From today, it will be illegal for people to meet in groups of more than six.
Sherwin Hall , his fiancé LaTroya Wilkinson-Caines and five-month-old son Sancho Hall
Even tougher rules are being enforced in areas including Birmingham, Manchester and Bolton, where residents from different households are banned from seeing each other.
Government sources believe these types of restrictions will soon be imposed nationwide which is likely to damage public confidence and potentially deter patients from seeking medical help.
The NHS Digital data reveals that the largest drop in hospital admissions was for dementia – down by 51 per cent in April compared to 2019.
The Alzheimer’s Society warned that emergencies such as dehydration and falls had gone ‘unnoticed’, in addition to patients being too scared to seek help.
Across nearly all conditions, the biggest fall in admissions was seen in April, when lockdown restrictions were at their height.
For mental health disorders such as severe depression and anxiety, they were 43 per cent lower in this month than the previous year.
Diabetes admissions were down by 36 per cent, stroke admissions by 17 per cent and eating disorder admissions by 31 per cent. Experts believe the sharp drop-off was partly caused by patients being reluctant to go to GPs or A&E or to call 999 or NHS 111, and subsequently admitted to hospital.
But many of the admissions would have involved ‘planned care’ such as routine consultations, operations or treatment, including chemotherapy for cancer.
A large proportion of these services were suspended by the NHS during the pandemic.
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said: ‘This is further evidence that people stayed away from the NHS in large numbers when the Government urged the public to protect it in the spring and early summer.
‘Some people will have suffered serious consequences for their health that would have been prevented in normal times.’
Professor Andrew Goddard, of the Royal College of Physicians, said: ‘The data confirms and shows the scale of what doctors were seeing during the first wave.
‘Undoubtedly, many patients were scared to come to hospital or felt their symptoms were not worth troubling an extremely busy NHS.’
NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: ‘Our NHS message to the public throughout has been – don’t delay, help us help you by coming forward.
‘Emergency hospital admissions are now approaching 95 per cent of usual levels with a substantial rebound in routine appointments and operations.’
NHS Digital said the majority of the admissions represented planned care, such as surgery or treatment including chemotherapy, rather than patients being rushed in as emergencies.