The King's Fund, National Voices and Healthwatch England found patients were putting off seeking care due to ‘dysfunctional' NHS admin.

Julia Cream, a policy fellow at The King's Fund and co-author of the report, said: ‘The number of people affected by poor admin is stark. Today's results lay bare the day-to-day dysfunction of an NHS that is too often not meeting people's needs and highlights the deep inequalities people experience when they are trying to access and engage with health services. Behind these numbers are stories of people who are worried about their health and struggling to get through the NHS's front door.'

Of those who have experienced at least one problem over the last year, 61% said it made them think money was being wasted, 56% said their time was being wasted and 55% felt NHS staff time was being wasted. 

Four in 10 (42%) said they were less likely to seek care in the future due to their experience and 47% said it made them think the quality of care the NHS provides was poor.  

The study found carers, patients with long-term health conditions, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and those struggling financially were all significantly more likely to experience issues with NHS admin and communication.

Three-quarters (75%) of patients with one or more long-term health condition had experienced an issue with NHS admin in the last year, compared to 57% of those with no long-term health conditions. 

Common issues experienced included: 32% of patients having to chase results following test, scans or X-rays; 32% not being kept updated on how long they had to wait for treatment or care; 23% not knowing who to contact while waiting for care; and 20% receiving an invitation to an appointment after the date of the appointment.

Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson Helen Morgan said: ‘It cannot be right that patients are being condemned to suffer whilst the NHS struggles with basic paperwork. The Government must investigate the scale of these admin failures and urgently improve practices to ensure patients are receiving the quality of care they deserve.'

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘As set out in our Plan for Change, long term reform is critical to the survival of the NHS.

‘To build an NHS fit for the future, we are modernising the NHS to give patients proper control over their health and getting bang for taxpayers' buck.

‘We are upgrading the NHS app, so patients can book and rearrange appointments, choose which hospital to be treated at, receive test results, and choose if they want to be seen in person or remotely.

‘Things are already improving. Today we've announced we've met our target, seven months early, to deliver more than 2m extra appointments for chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endoscopy diagnostic tests, and more.'