Britain’s brilliant NHS healthcare workers are on track to help clear the treatment backlog.
In a statement reported in today’s edition of the Express newpaper, the NHS England and NHS Improvement elective recovery adviser, Sir James Mackey, said: ‘Staff have successfully begun to reduce the longest treatment backlog waits for care, which ultimately means people who have been in need for longest, are now getting the care they need.’
The article references the drop in the number of people waiting more than two years for treatment. The data reveals a fall of 7,336, down from 22,311 in the week to the 6th of February, to 14,975 in the week ending the 3rd of April.
Sir James said: ‘There is a long and tough road ahead for the brilliant NHS to recover from COVID…but these latest numbers demonstrate clearly that the NHS is making the best possible use of the additional investment provided to us, starting with those in greatest need.’
The news will come as a boost to NHS chiefs, many of whom have experienced criticism of patient backlogs that have seen some illnesses – such as diabetes – find their way to the back of the treatment queue.
The Workers Union Says…
Long-time readers of this site will be aware that The Workers Union has been – and always will be – a huge supporter of the National Health Service. The original vision of healthcare, free at the point of access, is still the most marvellous example of our ability to fashion durable institutions that represent the best of the British character.
But let’s not pretend that the brilliant NHS faces little in the way of challenges. Throughout the COVID crisis, brave staff fought tirelessly to keep services running as normal, while the virus burned a swathe through the country. It was inevitable that such stressors would hit healthcare provision and create a treatment backlog
It is therefore to the eternal credit of doctors, nurses, assistants and support staff that the system maintained enough integrity to keep on looking after those most in need of treatment. It is equally laudable that this same commitment to quality patient care has started to shift the COVID-induced backlog.
In the final analysis, the NHS is never far from the centre of national debate. It plays a major role in the social and cultural life of this country, and exercises great influence on the way we perceive ourselves relative to other countries. So when a good news story about the service cuts through the noise, we must consider anew how lucky we are to be able to access such a system, and offer our thanks to the brilliant workers that make such outstanding healthcare possible. Thank you to all NHS staff.
