John Burn-Murdoch, writing in the Financial Times on 4th November 2022 (behind paywall) has shown that chronic illness has increased radically since the pandemic with almost 500,000 more people in the economically active age range of 16-64 not in the work force as a result. He proposes that long waiting lists are now a significant factor keeping some of them out. Of the various conditions Mental Health problems are most likely to keep people out of the work force permanently. The number of people with unmet medical need has risen sharply.
He notes, "Beginning shortly before the pandemic but then accelerating, there has been a steep climb in rates of chronic ill health among the long-term workless. Today there are half a million more working-age people in the UK with impairing health conditions than if pre-pandemic trends had continued, and 90 per cent of them are people who have not worked in several years."
He concludes, "The international perspective is striking. Over the past year, one in six UK adults has had a pressing need for medical examination or treatment and been unable to get access, with almost half of these cases due to the length of waiting lists, according to data from YouGov and Eurostat. This is the highest figure out of 36 European countries and almost triple the EU average. With a lengthy recession looming and spending cuts on the agenda, the future for Britain’s peripheral class looks bleak, but bringing them back into the fold should be the country’s top priority."