NHS dodged winter meltdown but Rishi Sunak fails on pledge to cut waiting lists
THE NHS dodged a winter meltdown but remains a poor service as Rishi Sunak has failed on his pledge to cut waiting lists, experts say.
The Prime Minister admitted improvements have been smaller than hoped after hospitals missed targets to reduce surgery waits and A&E delays.
Figures show the backlog shrank for a fifth month in a row in February, from 7.58million to 7.54m, but it is still larger than the 7.21m when the PM pledged to bring it down last January.
Casualty departments missed a target of seeing 76 per cent of patients within four hours despite doctors calling the goal “unambitious”.
March broke England’s record for the number of A&E visits in a month, with 2.35million.
It was also the busiest since March 2020 for category two 999 calls – which include strokes and heart attacks.
The NHS is stuck in a cycle of poor performance
Danielle Jefferies
On average they waited 34 minutes for paramedics to arrive, nearly double the 18-minute target.
Danielle Jefferies, analyst at the King’s Fund, said: “Waiting 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive when a person has had a stroke has become normalised.
“Statistics show that whilst winter pressures may not have dominated headlines as much as last year, the NHS is stuck in a cycle of poor performance.
“Bed occupancy, flu cases, and delays to discharge from hospital are all similar to last year, which at the time was referred to as the toughest winter in recent memory.
“The public are acutely aware of not being able to access all NHS services easily when they need them.”
Dr Tim Cooksley, of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “Patients continue to experience poor standards of care.”
Sunak admits progress slower than hoped
The health service said it hit its target on diagnosing cancer patients within a month for the first time, and ambulance and A&E waits are shorter than last year.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England, said: “The NHS is working flat out to recover services and bring down waiting times for patients despite enormous demand.”
PM Rishi Sunak said on Thursday morning: “Whilst we haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked, today’s figures show we are making headway.
“If it wasn’t for industrial action an extra 430,000 patients would have been treated.
“Whilst there’s a lot more work to do, the plan is working.
“We’re doing everything we can to get patients the care they need when they need it.”
TIMELINE OF THE NHS WAITING LIST
THE NHS waiting list in England has become a political flashpoint as it has ballooned in recent years, more than doubling in a decade.
The statistics for England count the number of procedures, such as operations and non-surgical treatments, that are due to patients.
The procedures are known as elective treatment because they are planned and not emergencies. Many are routine ops such as for hip or knee replacements, cataracts or kidney stones, but the numbers also include some cancer treatments.
This is how the wait list has changed over time:
August 2007: 4.19million – The first entry in current records.
December 2009: 2.32million – The smallest waiting list on modern record.
April 2013: 2.75million – The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition restructures the NHS. Current chancellor Jeremy Hunt was Health Secretary.
April 2016: 3.79million – Junior doctors go on strike for the first time in 40 years. Theresa May is elected Prime Minister.
February 2020: 4.57million – The final month before the UK’s first Covid lockdown in March 2020.
July 2021: 5.61million – The end of all legal Covid restrictions in the UK.
January 2023: 7.21million – New Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to reduce waiting lists within a year, effectively April 2024.
September 2023: 7.77million – The highest figure on record comes during a year hit with strikes by junior doctors, consultants, nurses and ambulance workers.
February 2024: 7.54million – Ministers admit the pledge to cut the backlog has failed.