Financial pressure showing with NHS waiting times slipping

Financial pressure is what’s behind the latest figures from the National Audit Office (NAO), showing that the NHS in England is struggling to meet the 18-week target for elective care, said UNISON, the UK’s largest union today.
 
Government funding is failing to keep pace with the sheer number of patients needing NHS care and this, coupled with the increased cost of complex treatment and drugs, is leading to a backward step for NHS targets.
 
The union is also pointing to the rising numbers of people going to A&E needing emergency admission who make it harder for hospitals to plan and to meet their targets.  Planning is also undermined by Government cuts to care in the community, making it harder for hospitals to discharge patients who need care at home and leading to bed blocking.
 
English Trusts face financial penalties if they fail to hit the 18-week target time and that has raised concerns over the accuracy with which figures are recorded.  Recording difficulties have been exacerbated by staff cuts to so-called non-front line staff, which has led to important clerical, secretarial and administrative functions being lost or reduced.
 
Christina McAnea, UNISON Head of Health, said:
 
“These referral figures shine a spotlight on the financial pressures being felt across the NHS, leading to a backward step in patient care.  Patients visiting their GPs need know that they will not have to wait in pain for months on end to get a referral for hospital treatment.
 
“The rise in the number of emergency admissions, high bed occupancy rates and problems caused by bed blocking, make it hard for even the best run hospital to plan with any certainty.
 
‘Questions are also being raised over the accuracy of figures, but the Government has made much of the need to cut back on non-clinical staff, but that has led to cuts to clerical and admin staff who do this vital work. We need to make sure there are adequate numbers of these staff to support the work of clinical teams in delivering quality patient care and to make sure that record-keeping is accurate and efficient.”