HEALTHCAR E DE LIVE RY
The road to recovery for the NHS
The NHS faces a slow road to recovery and the Government must manage expectations to retain public confidence, the NHS Confederation has warned. A new report outlines key recommendations to help healthcare services manage a challenging period of transition.
Analysis by the Health Foundation suggests that even before the coronavirus pandemic, to meet the 18-week standard for newly referred patients and clear the backlog of patients already on the waiting list, the NHS would have needed to treat an additional 500,000 patients a year for the next four years.1
However, the pandemic is likely to increase waiting lists even further and there are now concerns over how the NHS will recover. There has been an 85% drop in routine surgical activity compared to the same period last year and emergency admissions are far lower than before the pandemic.2
“Many of these missing patients still need care, and they will be seeking it, many at a more advanced stage of their illness, at a time when the NHS is still trying to balance
the needs of Coronavirus patients with the needs of a workforce that is overstretched and exhausted. It will be a real challenge,” warned Dr. Layla McCay, a director at the NHS Confederation. So, how should the NHS be supported to recover as it makes the slow journey to recovery? According to a new report, Getting the NHS back on track planning for the next phase of COVID-19, the health service in England will have to negotiate significant challenges as it continues to manage thousands of very sick and recovering COVID-19 patients, maintain social distancing and restart services to treat cancer, stroke and heart care.3 This will be made harder as healthcare
services will be operating with much reduced capacity – possibly around 60% of the normal capacity, due to the need for
Analysis shared with the NHS Confederation suggests that the NHS waiting list could reach 10 million by the end of the year, possibly higher if there is a second wave of COVID-19 and a lack of treatment or a vaccine.
AUGUST 2020
infection control measures, including the need to adhere to social distancing measures for patients and staff.
Among the key challenges will be dealing with the backlog of treatment that has been put on hold during COVID-19, with the waiting list for routine procedures, already at more than 4 million, now certain to rise significantly. As the pandemic moves from an ‘emergency’ response to ongoing care and rehabilitation, patients will require social care, respiratory, psychological, and other treatment in the community. Analysis shared with the NHS
Confederation suggests that the NHS waiting list could reach 10 million by the end of the year, possibly higher if there is a second wave of COVID-19 and a lack of treatment or a vaccine.
As the NHS plans a strategy for resuming
normal services, health leaders will have to support many exhausted and traumatised staff and stay prepared for a possible second peak. The NHS Confederation remains concerned that further steps to ease the lockdown must have a robust and clear rationale and be communicated with proper assurances to NHS staff and the wider public.
This will include assurances about the
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