New figures uncovered by a Full Fact investigation show that the 3.6 million extra hospital appointments the government called a “massive increase” is actually less than the number added the year before.
We looked into Labour’s promise to add two million extra appointments a year as part of our project tracking if the government is delivering what it promised.
NHS data we got from freedom of information requests going back to 2018, shows that these types of appointments had already been going up for several years.
The latest rise is smaller than in 2023/24, and about the same as in 2022/23.
That was actually the people and groups we contacted about the study. 11 have corrected themselves or rewritten the text where they mentioned the study.
Exciting news!
All next week Full Fact will be the subject of the BBC Radio 4 appeal.
Tune in on Sunday 1 and Thursday 5 June to hear broadcaster and journalist Martha Kearney tell Charlotte’s story.
