TY - JOUR

T1 - Austerity and waiting times

T2 - Evidence on reproductive health care delays among young millennials in deprived areas

AU - Martínez Jiménez, Mario

AU - Hollingsworth, Bruce

AU - Zucchelli, Eugenio

PY - 2025/3/7

Y1 - 2025/3/7

N2 - ObjectivesWaiting times in the English National Health System (NHS) have steadily increased since 2010 and reducing them has become a priority for the government and public. This study examines changes in hospital waiting times for millennials throughout adolescence and young adulthood, exploring their association with the 2010 austerity measures.Study designWe use administrative data from Hospital Episode Statistics for participants in the Next Steps survey, a longitudinal study following individuals born between 1989 and 1990. We focus on trends in outpatient and emergency hospital services used for ages 14–17 to 27 between 2003 and 7 and 2017.MethodsWe employ an event-study interrupted time series with panel data, controlling for changes in trend due to the 2008 macroeconomic shock and allowing for autocorrelation and seasonality.ResultsOur results show that trends in waiting times remained unchanged during the 2008 Great Recession. Following the 2010 austerity cuts, while overall waiting times for emergency and outpatient hospital care only increased by a small amount, waiting times for reproductive health care substantially increased among young people living in the most deprived areas.ConclusionsFindings suggest the presence of inequities in timely access to essential healthcare services, particularly in reproductive health care services (including obstetric and sexual health), which could potentially have substantial health consequences in the short and long run for young people living in more deprived areas. Policymakers implementing budget cuts in healthcare systems may need to consider allocating resources to mitigate and compensate for any detrimental health consequences.

AB - ObjectivesWaiting times in the English National Health System (NHS) have steadily increased since 2010 and reducing them has become a priority for the government and public. This study examines changes in hospital waiting times for millennials throughout adolescence and young adulthood, exploring their association with the 2010 austerity measures.Study designWe use administrative data from Hospital Episode Statistics for participants in the Next Steps survey, a longitudinal study following individuals born between 1989 and 1990. We focus on trends in outpatient and emergency hospital services used for ages 14–17 to 27 between 2003 and 7 and 2017.MethodsWe employ an event-study interrupted time series with panel data, controlling for changes in trend due to the 2008 macroeconomic shock and allowing for autocorrelation and seasonality.ResultsOur results show that trends in waiting times remained unchanged during the 2008 Great Recession. Following the 2010 austerity cuts, while overall waiting times for emergency and outpatient hospital care only increased by a small amount, waiting times for reproductive health care substantially increased among young people living in the most deprived areas.ConclusionsFindings suggest the presence of inequities in timely access to essential healthcare services, particularly in reproductive health care services (including obstetric and sexual health), which could potentially have substantial health consequences in the short and long run for young people living in more deprived areas. Policymakers implementing budget cuts in healthcare systems may need to consider allocating resources to mitigate and compensate for any detrimental health consequences.

U2 - 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.027

DO - 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.027

M3 - Journal article

VL - 242

SP - 111

EP - 116

JO - Public Health

JF - Public Health

SN - 0033-3506

ER -