Nuffield Trust response to the Covid Inquiry report on healthcare systems

Commenting on the third report of the Covid Inquiry, Thea Stein, Chief Executive of the Nuffield Trust said:

“The problems identified in this sobering report have been hiding in plain sight in the NHS for years: outdated buildings impeding infection control, poor workforce planning and low morale among staff, overcrowded hospitals and problems in discharging patients into their homes. 

“But this makes the report’s conclusions no less shocking. As we have previously documented, the NHS went into the pandemic on the back foot, and has been slower to recover than many other comparable countries. Staff have, as this report shows, borne extreme and unrelenting pressure. Our waiting lists remain unacceptably high, and the health service has struggled to regain ground lost during the pandemic when some services were put on hold or even cancelled. 

“The big question posed by the inquiry is whether or not today’s NHS is in a better place as a result of changes made since 2021 than it was before the pandemic. 

“The jury, it seems, is out. There has been some clear progress in delivering more timely, appropriate care through digital innovations such as virtual wards, the NHS app and more remote appointments. Recent signs of improvement in waiting times and patient satisfaction, and NHS productivity are positive, although we are a long way off recovering from the huge setbacks prompted by the pandemic.  

“But many of the same problems we faced in 2019 are still present today - the backlog for repairing and maintaining buildings remains high, last week’s NHS staff survey revealed how sickness and unhappiness at work are affecting too many healthcare workers. There also remains a mismatch between the amount of healthcare that the British public want and need, and the services available to provide it. These all set alarm bells ringing when we think about whether or not the NHS is resilient enough to weather another pandemic.”