How many patients are treated by the NHS?
By Gemma Raw
With circa 1.3 million members of staff across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the NHS is the largest employer in Europe (and the fifth largest employer in the world!). With more than 300 NHS careers on offer, it is a fantastic and diverse place to work.
NHS patient statistics
In 2018/19, it was estimated that the NHS encountered 564 million patients across all of its services (GPs, community services, mental health services, hospitals, NHS 111 and ambulance services), with 1.4 million hospital admissions.
According to the NHS, a typical day includes:
Over 835,000 people visiting their GP practice or practice nurse
94,000 hospital emergency admissions
Almost 50,000 people visiting A&E departments
49,000 outpatient consultations
36,000 patients for planned treatments in hospital
Read more about the NHS hospitals.
How much does going to A&E cost the NHS?
We’re incredibly lucky to have access to treatment through the NHS in the UK. As a patient, you will only need to pay for prescriptions. The rest of the treatment is funded through general taxation and National Insurance contributions (NICs).
Many patients access treatment through the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, with Monday mornings being the busiest time for admissions. The cost of visiting an accident and emergency department varies depending on the type of hospital the patient attends (from a major, consultant-led department to an urgent care centre), and the treatment needed. If someone attends an urgent care centre and gets the lowest level of treatment, the average cost is around £45. However, if a person visits a major A&E department and receives a more complex investigation and treatment, the average cost will jump up to approximately £400.
How much does an operation cost the NHS?
Again, this varies depending on a few factors, such as the type of procedure and how long the patient stays in hospital afterwards to recover. For example, in 2018/19 the cost of a hip replacement varied from £6,068 to £11,632 depending on the complexity of the operation and the condition of the patient. Take a look at the national tariff payment system for the average cost of NHS procedures.
How much does a GP appointment cost the NHS?
The cost of a GP appointment is around £30.
Every year, approximately 5% (15.4 million) of the circa 307 million appointments booked with GPs, nurses, therapists and other practice staff are missed. This equates to over 1.2 million wasted GP hours and the cost of these appointments could have paid for:
2,325 full time GPs
8,424 full time community nurses
224,640 cataract surgeries
58,320 hip replacement surgeries
216,000 alzheimers treatment courses
Find out who has to pay for NHS treatment.
For more information on NHS careers, read our collection of blogs.
