Healthy dose of realism needed about what the NHS can deliver amid pressures

Responding to information obtained by the PA news agency on patients suffering from long waiting times to receive treatment, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

“NHS leaders do not want any patient to have to wait longer than they have to for their planned surgeries, which is why they have been so frustrated by the ongoing impact of coronavirus and the various obstacles that are interfering with their ability to tackle the backlogs.

“They and their teams are doing everything they can and are making solid progress, including by carrying out 1.24 million urgent and non-urgent procedures in a single month, and where capacity is particularly stretched, they are looking at how they can pool their resources across different services to identify patients who may be able to be treated sooner.

“It is right that the NHS is held to account for its performance and its leaders are committed to putting the additional investment to best use for patients, but the pressures linked to Covid, the social care crisis, and the significant workforce vacancies are not going to be solved by this Government overnight so we need a healthy dose of realism about what the NHS will be able to deliver in return.”