Just thinking about this and trying to get my head around the implications.
I think mostly, additional applicants make it harder to get an interview - if you have an interview then the competition ratios are probably the same as they are normally.
So it's the application to interview ratio that has become more of an issue. An the interview to offer ratio is likely to stay the same?
I.e a medical school won't interview 20% more people just because there are 20% more applicants. If they select for interview using a score, or ranking by UCAT score, these scores will effectively be driven upwards.
Maybe places like Keele, using the R&R form are different from the above though?