NHS continues to operate under huge pressure but has made progress in meeting rising demand for care

The latest NHS monthly performance statistics published today (Thursday 10th November) show:

• There were 1.37 million completed pathways – this means in Sep 2022 they did 99.8% of elective activity compared to Sep 2019.
• For 78-week waiters (the commitment for March 2023) the number is now 50,539. The total is down to just over 349 from last month.
• One month wait from decision to treat a first treatment of cancer, this is below standard (91.1%).
• A&E performance worst ever for October with 69.3% (all A&E) for under 4-hour attendances, the first time it has been under 70%. 54.8% in major A&E, down from 56.9% last month. 

Responding to the latest NHS monthly performance statistics, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

“The NHS continues to operate under huge pressure but has made progress in meeting rising demand for care. However, NHS staff are being let down by the fact the government has still not given local services the £500m that was promised two months ago to help reduce the number of patients stuck in hospital when they don’t need to be there. The government needs to act now otherwise that money will come too late to support patients and staff during the winter.

“The failure to provide extra capacity in social care through this £500m fund is causing bottlenecks on hospital wards, all the way back to A&E departments and ambulances queuing outside hospitals that are unable to pass on patients and get back on the road to treat critically ill patients.

“This funding is long overdue and must be accompanied with further support for the NHS ahead of the Autumn Budget on 17 November. For we know this is shaping up to be a perilous winter and we need to offer NHS staff hope in the gruelling months ahead.  

“Finally, despite more patients with cancer being treated, it is concerning to see that long waits for cancer treatment are on the rise. NHS staff are doing all they can to catch up on the backlog of care, but they know there is a long way to go before performance is at the levels that we all want to see. We continue to lack the staff we need to diagnose cancers more quickly, to deliver surgery and treatment and to support cancer patients with their rehabilitation. The government has to address this with a fully funded and costed workforce plan – this is long overdue.”