Commenting on the health select committee’s report on winter pressures, Nigel Edwards, Chief Executive of the Nuffield Trust said:
The NHS is going into its toughest winter yet with the odds stacked against it. Demand for healthcare is on the rise, funding for both health and social care is being squeezed and A&E departments are missing their targets. The committee is right to say that urgent action is required to address this.Nigel Edwards, Chief Executive of Nuffield Trust
“The NHS is going into its toughest winter yet with the odds stacked against it. Demand for healthcare is on the rise, funding for both health and social care is being squeezed and A&E departments are missing their targets. The committee is right to say that urgent action is required to address this.
“Our recent analysis with The King’s Fund highlighted a growing funding gap within social care at least £2.8 billion by 2019/20 as public spending on adult social care shrinks. Hundreds of thousands of older people have already lost out on publicly funded social care as austerity has hit.
“As we have previously shown, hospitals are now so full that meeting the target to admit or discharge most patients within four hours is becoming very difficult indeed. This is just set to intensify as winter progresses. Small changes, such as altering the way beds are counted and improving the way patients move through hospital once they’re admitted, can really help - so the committee’s focus on improving systems and processes is welcome.
“Overall, however, the government must heed their calls for more investment in health and social care to ensure that the NHS is able to cope with the winter months ahead.”