Quality of NHS patient care ‘has deteriorated in past year’

May 19, 2016

King’s Fund report warns NHS faces ‘Herculean challenge’ to improve care
65% of finance directors of 241 NHS trusts say care has deteriorated
Waiting times for operations are worst in a decade with 4 million on list
Government has injected an extra £6 billion into the NHS’s annual budget

Sophie Borland Health Editor For The Daily Mail

Published:
19:31 EST, 18 May 2016

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Updated:
03:55 EST, 19 May 2016

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Two in three health bosses say patient care has worsened in the last 12 months, a damning report revealed today.

The Kings Fund report warns that the NHS faces a ‘Herculean challenge’ trying to provide more treatments on such a tightly constrained budget.

It highlights how waiting times for operations are at their worst in a decade with almost four million patients languishing on lists.

The think tank surveyed the finance directors of 241 NHS trusts, including hospitals, ambulance services and mental health providers, and 65 per cent said patient care had deteriorated in the last year.

A new report from the influential King’s Fund think-tank found worsening patient care and a health service under pressure due to financial problems

And 82 per cent said they would struggle to meet strict new spending targets imposed by Whitehall to try and stop the health service running out of money.

It also found that 70 per cent of NHS trusts are in the red financially, and this includes nine out of 10 hospitals.

The Government has injected an extra £6 billion into the NHS’s annual budget to cope with the soaring demand from the population boom and rising costs of elderly care.

But the Kings Fund says this isn’t enough and standards are beginning to deteriorate sharply.

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Figures show that there are currently 3.7 million patients currently waiting for a hospital operation, the highest number since 2007.

Waiting times in AE are their worst since 2004 with almost two million patients last year spending at least four hours in casualty before being discharged or admitted onto a ward.

John Appleby, Chief Economist at The King’s Fund, said: ‘Our latest survey confirms what we already knew, that 2015/16 was a very difficult year for the NHS, reflected in huge deficits and worsening performance.

He added: ‘2016/17 is a watershed year for the NHS in which it has been tasked with eradicating deficits and improving performance. Despite significant additional funding and a huge effort to contain deficits, it is clear that this is going to be a Herculean challenge.’

Waiting times in AE are their worst since 2004 with almost two million patients last year spending at least four hours in casualty before being discharged or admitted onto a ward

Justin Madders MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, said: ‘This report is a yet another reminder that Jeremy Hunt has completely lost control of NHS finances and is failing to protect patient care.

‘The NHS has been plunged into the deepest financial crisis in a generation, with nine out of ten hospitals ending the last financial year in the red.

‘The Tories are failing patients and failing the NHS and it is time Jeremy Hunt took some responsibility for this crisis he has caused.’

Health minister David Prior said: ‘As the King’s Fund makes clear, this Government is investing significant additional funding in the NHS – an extra £10 billion a year by 2020, which is only possible thanks to our strong economy.

‘We recognise parts of the NHS are under pressure as demand rises in large part due to our ageing population, but we are supporting the NHS’s plans to deliver more care outside hospital settings and improve performance, including by reducing the use of expensive agency staff.’

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: ‘These figures show that the crisis in the NHS is growing by the day, with no sign of resolution.

‘The scale of the anticipated financial deficit for trusts in England is devastating and means that local managers and clinicians are facing a meltdown in their organisations.’

An NHS England spokesman said: ‘This report confirms that while non-elective admissions over the past year are up by 2 per cent and inpatient bed days are stable, the final quarter of 2015-16 was particularly busy with more than two million treated in AE in March alone.

‘This was compounded by the effects of the delayed flu spike and we also saw the effects of delayed care and industrial action beginning to show.’