At least 2,000 patients have accidentally “dropped off” NHS waiting lists since 2018, according to a new report by the health watchdog.

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) warned that the electronic system widely used by GPs to refer patients for specialist care “was not designed to manage the current volume of referrals” in the health service.

It comes as an investigation found that a number of incidents involving thousands of patients disappearing from waiting lists have occurred since 2018.

The NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) generates digital worklists for services such as hospitals.

Referrals are automatically removed when an action, such as booking a patient an appointment, is performed or when 180 days pass with no action, which was designed to slash the risk of large worklists impacting performance.

However, the HSSIB warned that this 180-day function “also creates a hazard” and puts people at risk of missed or delayed care.

Its investigation found there were incidents where…