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The number of people waiting for planned hospital care has continued to climb with 6.1 million people on waiting lists and nearly 24,000 of these waiting more than two years.
The latest monthly combined performance data, and the latest week of winter reporting data, show significant backlogs also exist across mental health and community services. In addition, urgent and emergency care also remains under considerable strain, with 19% more incidents requiring an ambulance compared to two years ago.
Health leaders say this demonstrates that the NHS is still under intense pressure, despite moving towards spring, when we normally expect to see seasonal winter pressures ease. It also highlights the impact on the NHS of the peak in Omicron cases over winter.
The Health Foundation said that as the government proceeds to end all Covid measures, it’s evident that even a €˜mild’ variant of this virus can still cause severe disruption to patient care.
Tim Gardner, Senior Policy Fellow, said: “Despite the best efforts of staff to manage the pressure, it is clear that the NHS continues to be stretched to its limits. The data also shows emergency care was under severe stress in February, with an average of 585 patients every day delayed for over 12 hours in A&E while waiting for a hospital bed.
“With Covid cases and hospitalisations once again rising, it’s clear that plans for €˜living with Covid’ are likely to have enduring consequences for the NHS as it seeks to tackle the backlog of treatment caused by the pandemic.”
He added that this week the Health Secretary launched his €˜vision for long-term NHS reform’ which notably lacked detail on plans to address the NHS’s major workforce issues. There are currently 110,000 vacancies within the NHS and given the sheer scale of the pressure the NHS is under the government needs to be honest with the public about the challenge ahead.
“If the NHS is going to recover over the long term, then a fully funded workforce strategy should be at the heart of any reform ambitions,” he said.
Hospitals throughout England continue to flash red
The King’s Fund said that the NHS continues to face pressures on multiple fronts with 12 hour waits in A&E rising more than ten-fold compared to a year ago.
“This is not normal,” said Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst at The King’s Fund. “NHS staff are working flat out to balance tackling the waiting list backlog with unrelenting pressure across the health system. But while recovery plans and initiatives to date, such as new surgical hubs and diagnostic centres, are helpful, these are only part of the solution.
“The government’s promises to offer patients greater choice over where they receive treatment and ambitions to reduce long waits for care will ring hollow if hospitals throughout England continue to flash red.
“Staff shortages remain the rate-limiting factor in the government’s ambition to reduce the backlog. Without a fully-funded workforce plan, key targets will continue to be missed and people will continue wait longer for the care they need.”
