Nuffield Trust response to the NHS elective recovery plan

Responding to the NHS elective recovery plan, Nuffield Trust Deputy Director of Research, Sarah Scobie said:

“The message from today’s announcement and the elective recovery plan is clear – that long waits for patients needing planned NHS treatment will be here to stay for some time yet.

“The impact of the Omicron wave and higher rates of hospitalisation for Covid-19 over the winter have set back the ongoing hard work of NHS staff to cut through this mountainous backlog of care. The number of patients now waiting two years continues to go in wrong direction. The government and NHS have also acknowledged that we do not know the true scale of those yet to come forward for care, or using other routes into the health system.

“While more diagnostic hubs and tests are welcome, to run them the NHS will find itself moving around already constrained staff and resources. To be able to carry out the 30% more operations than before the pandemic by 2024/25, there will need to be a big change in how services are organised and an increase in what can be delivered. It will be difficult to achieve this, and make sure the most urgent are seen first, with the staffing levels and buildings it currently has.

“Underpinning all these initiatives are health and care staff. The NHS has been waiting for a long-term plan to grow and support its workforce for a number of years now, and that wait continues today. Much has been asked of a depleted workforce over the pandemic and more will be required of them to work through a waiting list of 6 million people, which could grow even further.”