Hospital Waiting List Backlog Grows

The BBC has reported this week that the backlog in hospital treatment has continued to grow for operations or other hospital treatment. 

Newly released NHS-England data shows there were 6.84 million people on the waiting list for hospital treatment in England at the end of July. This is nearly one in eight people waiting for operations or other care. Before the pandemic, there were 4.2 million waiting for treatment.

Whilst the figures show some slight improvement in A&E waits, both services are still far from reaching their targets.

New Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has promised to put the NHS on a “firm footing” and it is expected that the Government will unveil a plan for the health service in the next week.

Comment

It is clear that the Government has a lot of work to do.

It has widely been reported that this summer has been worse than any winter this century for the NHS. Dr Adrian Boyle, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, was reported as saying that the demise has been so sharp that the NHS is “struggling to perform even its central function – to deliver care safely and effectively.”

The NHS is clearly struggling at every angle, but it seems that the problems have been rumbling for years, not just since the pandemic.

Staff shortages are a huge concern, with a reported one-in-10 posts currently vacant. This drastically limits the ability of the NHS to expand or improve services any further.

Also, one of the main reasons the emergency system is struggling is because patients may be medically fit to leave the hospital, but can’t because there is no support available in the community. Community care is provided by councils, not by the NHS. Therefore, further support and consideration need to be given here, but this will come down to a lack of funding being put into the social care system.

The challenge to help the NHS is no small task, and there is clearly an urgency in making decisions as to what can and should be done.

It remains to be seen whether the Government will follow through with promises to focus on the NHS and put plans in place which are achievable, but for now, it is worrying to see these figures showing that the backlogs are continuing to rise and patient safety continues to be put at risk.