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MPs say that the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and NHS Improvement have “overseen years of decline” in waiting time performance for cancer and elective care, criticising both parties for failing to “increase capacity sufficiently to meet growing demand for NHS services.”
The criticism forms part of a report by The Committee of Public Accounts, which analyses NHS backlogs and waiting times in England.
The report found that the NHS has not met the 18-week maximum waiting time standard for elective care since February 2016 nor, in totality, the eight key standards for cancer care since 2014.
Now, two years on from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Committee say there has been a “further huge deterioration” in the NHS’s provision of elective and cancer care.
Indeed, performance standards require that at least 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks for care. But in December 2021, this was true for less than two thirds (64%) of patients.
As a result, “people will face serious health consequences…with some dying earlier than they otherwise would, and many living with pain or discomfort for longer than they otherwise would,” according to the report.
A full costed plan must be published to ensure elective and cancer care performance standards are met once more
To ensure conditions of care improve for the six million patients awaiting routine care and treatment, the Committee lays out a series of recommendations for the Department and NHSE&I.
Firstly, they say workforce assessments are desperately needed, and the NHSE&I must provide a detailed report about how the size of the NHS workforce will change over the next three years.
They must also better protect staff who have been working under intense and consistent pressure throughout the pandemic, as well as improving communication with patients so they are informed of their progression on waiting lists.
The Committee adds that there must be much clearer, detailed planning of how the NHS will use the £8 billion of funding that has been allocated to the health service.
This includes clearly outlining timeframes, costs and outputs of the components of the recovery plan, longer-term investment plans, and the national performance levels expected from 2024-25.
Ultimately, the Committee says that by the next spending review, the Department and NHSE&I should have “a fully costed plan to enable legally binding elective and cancer care performance standards to be met once more.”
Staff “must be supported, otherwise many more will face burnout”
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the Committee is “right to raise concerns”, and blames the “longest financial squeeze in the NHS’ history during the 2010s” for the lengthening waiting lists.
The good news, however, is that the NHS is treating “more patients than ever” – referrals are increasing and “we are also seeing improvements in cancer care”, he says.
Despite this, he adds the Committee is right to flag the huge number of “missing patients” who didn’t come forward during the pandemic, as well as the staff shortages which have caused healthcare workers to remain overworked and under intense pressure for the past two years.
He says these staff “must be supported, otherwise many more will face burnout.”