Responding to the Public Accounts Committee’s report ‘NHS
backlogs and waiting times in England’, the deputy chief
executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:
"Trust leaders will recognise the issues explored by the public
accounts committee within their latest report. They
understand all too well the potential risks, disruption and
distress patients face from long delays for treatment which have
got significantly worse following the pandemic.
"Trusts are focussing on reducing waiting times, and NHS staff
are working hard to meet the stretching targets to recover
elective and cancer waiting times, as well as to tackle wider
care backlogs.
“We know from our members there are delays across all health and
care which warrant similar focus and national support, including
community and mental health care.
“It will take time to address these backlogs and we must be
realistic about what we can achieve and when.
“Managing waiting lists is a complex process. A survey by
NHS Providers found almost all NHS trust leaders reported that
patients’ conditions were often more severe and complex than
before the pandemic.
“Trusts will continue to prioritise those with the greatest
clinical need, those waiting the longest, and seek to close the
health inequalities gap.
“The public accounts committee is also right to highlight the
biggest problem facing the NHS as it seeks to bear down on
treatment delays: the lack of NHS staff.
“The government must set out the concrete action it will take to
tackle the 110,000 staff vacancies and provide a sustainable
workload for the workforce. These staffing gaps are putting
significant pressure on quality of care and patient
safety.
"It's vital the government commits to a robust system for long
term workforce planning for the NHS.”
