Waiting list for NHS hospital treatment will take years to clear

Ministers have said the waiting list for hospital treatment will not start to fall for two years, despite unveiling a plan to tackle England’s care backlog.

 

Six million people are currently on a waiting list, one in nine of the population.  But health secretary Sajid Javid has said this number was likely to increase, with demand expected to rise now Covid pressure was easing.

 

He also set out plans to reduce cancer treatment waiting times, including a 28-day target for cancer diagnosis by March 2024, which should have been introduced last year but was delayed due to the pandemic.

 

Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief executive, said tackling the backlog would take time and “cannot happen overnight”, but promised the same “can-do” spirit would be applied by the health service as it had throughout the pandemic.

 

Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, accused the Tories of “mismanagement” of the NHS, stressing that performance had been declining before the pandemic, adding that there was nothing in the health secretary’s plan about tackling the “single biggest challenge” facing the NHS – the lack of staff.

 

Mr Streeting added “There are 93,000 staffing vacancies in the NHS today.

 

“It is understaffed, overworked – and if he’s not careful, he will lose more people than he is able to recruit.”

 

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events.  Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.

 

If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.

 

Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

 

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