According to a recent analysis, the UK is lagging behind other high-income nations as a result of lengthy hospital wait times. According to the Health Foundation, the United Kingdom is one of the "poorest performing countries" in terms of hospital-based care.

When it came to seeing hospital specialists in fewer than four weeks, the UK was among the best in the world ten years ago. However, a recent report by the think tank claims that it "slipped from being one of the better-performing nations in 2013 to one of the worst in 2023." In the nearly twenty-year-old Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey, adults from ten high-income nations—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom—were questioned about their experiences utilising a variety of services, such as dental care, GP support, and hospital treatment.

The 2023 survey saw 21,000 people were asked their opinions including 3,361 adults in the UK.

Analysis of the data by the Health Foundation found that the UK has some of the longest reported waiting times to see a specialist and, alongside Canada, has the largest proportion of people waiting one year or more for an appointment.According to the most recent official statistics, England's waiting list for standard hospital care has grown for the third consecutive month. At the end of June, an estimated 7.62 million treatments, or 6.39 million patients, were scheduled for completion. This represents a modest increase from the 7.60 million treatments and 6.37 million patients at the end of May. With 6.50 million patients and 7.77 million treatments, the list reached a record level in September 2023. By the end of June, 2,621 patients in England had been waiting more than 18 months to begin normal therapy, and 58,024 patients had been waiting longer than 65 weeks.

A total of 302,693 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of June.

And some 302,693 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment at the end of June, down slightly from 307,500 at the end of May.

The Government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025.

The Health Foundation’s analysis found that the UK is among the better-performing countries for people reporting access to same- or next-day GP appointments.

But the survey also highlighted concerns about access and cost of dentistry.

The UK's health services are facing a precarious state due to the pandemic and below-average spending growth, according to a Health Foundation report. The report reveals that the UK consistently ranks low in people's healthcare experience compared to other high-income countries. The report highlights the need for the government to prioritize reducing waiting lists, improve primary care, and ensure good coordination between hospitals and GPs. The report also warns against creeping costs denying people access to healthcare, particularly in dental care. The Department of Health and Social Care is committed to tackling the issues and delivering an extra 40,000 appointments every week. However, critics argue that Labour's failures in Wales and the SNP's in Scotland have dragged Britain down the international rankings.