Britons will die younger and in poorer health because the NHS is not recovering from the pandemic fast enough, MPs warn.
The service is unlikely to meet key recovery targets for routine surgery and cancer treatments despite a significant cash injection, a Public Accounts Committee report shows.
It points to poor workforce planning and says there are not enough staff and scanners to quickly fill record waiting lists of 7.2 million people.
The first year of NHS England’s three-year recovery program is already falling short of expectations and affecting people’s quality of life, according to the report.
That’s because bosses made “too optimistic” assumptions, including that there would be low levels of Covid-19 and minimal adverse effects from winter pressure, he added.
The service is unlikely to meet key recovery targets for routine surgery and cancer treatments, despite a significant additional cash injection, according to a Public Accounts Commission report.
Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “The NHS is in full-blown crisis. [It] will not achieve the objectives of its recovery plan’
The committee now has serious doubts about whether the wider NHS recovery plan will be delivered on time, calling waiting times for cancer treatment “particularly worrying”.
Meg Hillier, the chair of the committee, said: “The NHS is in total crisis. [It] will not meet the goals of his recovery plan, and that means indicators of health, longevity and quality of life will continue to decline for people in this country.”
Waiting times for cancer are the worst on record, the report says. About 85 percent of patients who are urgently referred by their GP and diagnosed with cancer need to start treatment within 62 days.
But in the first five months of 2022/23, only 62 per cent of cases met that target, with 11 per cent of patients treated more than 104 days after an urgent referral.
Waiting times for cancer are the worst on record, says the Public Accounts Committee report
The NHS is struggling to recover from the Covid pandemic
NHS England has set a target for the weekly number of patients waiting longer than 62 days to recover to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023.
The stimulus plan also stipulated that activity levels would return to pre-pandemic levels in early 2022/23. But from April to August 2022, survey activity — non-emergency treatment — was just 95 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
The Department of Health has pledged £14bn to NHS England from 2022/23 to 2024/25 and last year’s Autumn Statement promised a further £3.3bn for the NHS budget as a whole in 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “Trust leaders are working extremely hard to tackle the backlog and have made remarkable progress.
“However, a very harsh winter, the impact of industrial action and massive staff shortages are just some of the challenges that threaten to undermine these efforts.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
