Former cancer czar wants doctors to work from home to end waiting lists

NHS counselors should be able to work from home, according to the former government cancer czar.

Sir Mike Richards is calling for sweeping action to address record waiting lists, and says some doctors may be checking patients out almost before they go to work. He also recommends giving more responsibility to personnel without medical qualifications.

Professor Richards, a former hospital inspector who continues to be influential in government, told the Times: “It’s about using every lever instead of just saying you can’t. It’s possible, but it will be hard work.’

He argued that hospitals were previously very reluctant to hire administrative and administrative staff, but that these employees could be trained for jobs such as using scanning machines in cancer diagnosis centers and freeing up doctors’ time.

In March, 6.4 million patients were waiting for treatment, an increase of 3% compared to the previous month.

He argued that hospitals were previously very reluctant to employ administrative staff and that these employees could be trained for jobs such as using scanning machines in cancer diagnosis centers and saving time for doctors.

But NHS sources told The Daily Telegraph that the real number could reach 13 million. This is partly due to the fact that patients are removed from the waiting list after receiving the first referral for treatment.

However, they will usually not have received treatment other than pain relievers to transfer them before surgery.

Professor Richards added: “We can get people in with starting rates: School leavers who would otherwise pile up shelves or stand in supermarket checkouts. We need to get people to see healthcare as a very rewarding field.

We’re getting interns, it’s a new career. You can learn it on the job, get paid on the job, and then climb the ladder. “We can do a lot by hiring support staff so we can broadcast X-rays, for example.”

NHS leaders have previously said a shortage of 110,000 staff, including 40,000 nurses and 8,000 doctors, will make it impossible to meet the government’s goals of eliminating the Covid care burden.

NHS data shows that 1.6 million people are still on the waiting list for diagnostic tests, with 400,000 waiting longer than the six-week target.

NHS chiefs wrote earlier this month to hospital funds that waiting lists will not go away until measures are taken to “expand the capacity of our workforce”.

The Department for Health and Welfare said: “We have a record number of doctors, nurses and medical staff… We have also recently commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term staffing strategy.”