NHS crisis: Health service is heading for ‘another tough winter’

NHS crisis: Health service is heading for ‘another tough winter’, warn experts as staff vacancies top 100,000 and trusts left £800million in the red

Analysts fear the dire situation is only going to worsen by the end of the year
Chris Hopson, chief exec of NHS Providers, said trusts ‘are doing all they can’
But he added that they ‘don’t seem able to outpace the increase in demand’
NHS Improvement today released its quarterly situation report of the NHS

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The NHS crisis has today been laid bare by damning new figures that show soaring numbers of vacancies and trusts in millions of debt.

Empty job posts remain above 100,000 and analysts fear the dire situation is only going to worsen by the end of the year.

NHS trusts across England were also £814 million in deficit at the end of June, the shocking quarterly report also revealed.

Health leaders fear the over-stretched health service is heading for ‘another tough winter’, following its ‘worst ever’ cold season.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said trusts – which run services and spend money – ‘are doing all they can’.

Commenting on the figures, he added: ‘However hard they run, they don’t seem able to outpace the increase in demand.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said trusts – which run services and spend money – ‘are doing all they can’

‘Trusts tell us they are most worried about the workforce shortages they face, and it’s a real concern that these figures have shown such a big increase in vacancy levels.’

Mr Hopson added: ‘It’s worrying this problem is getting worse rather than better.’

Ian Dalton, chief executive of NHS Improvement, said: ‘Staff are working extremely hard to cope with a rise in A&E attendances and high occupancy levels.

‘A&Es up and down the country have been successful in treating more patients than ever before within four hours.

‘We are helping trusts ensure that no-one stays in hospital longer than they need to, so that beds are free for other patients who urgently need them.’

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There were 107,743 vacancies in England at the end of June – quarter one of 2018/19, according to the report by NHS Improvement.

This is nearly a 10 per cent on the 98,475 recorded in March – and higher than the 107,122 vacancies recorded in the first quarter of 2017/18.

The increase, mainly seen in nurses, bucks the downward trend that had been recorded over the past year.

NHS Improvement said the rise, the result of increasing demand and high leaving rates, is forecast to continue throughout the financial year.

Independent think tank The King’s Fund warned growing nurse shortages ‘risk becoming a national emergency’.

JUST HOW STRETCHED IS THE NHS?

Waiting times at over-stretched A&E units are at their worst level since records began, according to official figures in April 2018.

Experts said the NHS was in the grip of an ‘eternal winter’ and many hospitals are still struggling to cope with the unprecedented pressure.

Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt was forced to admit it was the ‘worst winter ever’ amid a severe outbreak of flu and cold weather.

Chiefs cancelled thousands of operations in a controversial move to ease pressure. And experts have suggested this may be the only option to stop a crisis next year.

The latest monthly data from NHS England also shows that waiting times for routine operations, such as knee and hip replacements, are at their highest since 2004.

And violent assaults on staff have risen by 10 per cent in a year – partly driven by frustration with waiting times.

Siva Anandaciva, its chief analyst, said they are ‘symptomatic of a long-term failure in workforce planning’.

Around 1.1 million full-time staff are currently employed by the NHS, the figures from NHS Improvement show.

There were 41,722 nursing vacancies across trusts in England at the end of June, of which 80 per cent were filled by bank or agency staff.

A further 11,576 unfilled posts were recorded for doctors, of which 85 per cent were plugged with temporary workers.

Between April and June, NHS trusts spent £805 million on bank staff, £102 million more than planned.

And they spent an additional £599 million on agency staff, which was £32 million over-budget, according to the report.

Mr Anandaciva said: ‘After a punishing summer of heatwaves and ever-increasing demands on services, today’s report shows that the NHS is heading for another tough winter.

‘Widespread and growing nursing shortages now risk becoming a national emergency and are symptomatic of a long-term failure in workforce planning.’

He added the figures have been ‘exacerbated by the impact of Brexit and short-sighted immigration policies’.

Trusts across England were £814 million in deficit at the end of June, the report also reveals.

NHS Improvement said this is £22 million better than planned at the beginning of the year, but £78 million worse than the year ending June 2017.

The projected deficit for the end of 2018/19, which stands at £519 million, is ‘clearly unaffordable’, the report said.

A&E staff saw 5,602,531 patients in less than four hours between April and June, compared to 5,427,860 in the same period last year, the report also showed.

However, 3,402 patients were waiting longer than 52 weeks for elective treatment in June, compared to 1,475 at the same time last year.

PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY FINALLY APOLOGISES FOR THE 55,000 OPERATIONS CANCELLED… A DAY AFTER REFUSING TO ACCEPT THE NHS WAS IN THE MIDST OF A CRISIS

Mrs May finally apologised to patients who faced a delay on January 4

Prime Minister Theresa May finally apologised to patients who faced a delay on January 4, after it was announced 55,000 operations will be postponed.

The unprecedented move to cancel non-urgent procedures to free up beds and frontline staff was made by NHS bosses.

The decision prompted an apology from Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday, following pressure from his critics that he was ‘running scared’.

Mrs May apologised during a visit today to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, one of many trusts affected by the NHS move to cancel procedures.

After refusing to accept the NHS was in a crisis the day before, she said: ‘I know it’s difficult, I know it’s frustrating, I know it’s disappointing for people, and I apologise.’

Her comments followed official data which showed record numbers of patients are being forced to wait in ambulances for treatment.

Some 16,900 people were forced to wait for more than 30 minutes in ambulances to be seen by staff at A&E over the Christmas week – the highest total this winter.

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