he National Health Service Health leaders say that they are as nervous now as they were at the height of the pandemic in January, and the situation will get worse before it gets better.
In the letter to the prime minister Boris Johnson headmaster Rich Sunak Sanitation Committee Sajid Javid Steve Barclays, Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Sir Sir, Chief Executive Officer of NHS England Simon Stevens NHS providers say that health services are facing multiple pressures.
“This combination means that many trust CEOs say that the overall level of stress they are now facing, although very different in form, is similar to the pressure they saw when the NHS faced the greatest pressure in January this year. A generation. ,” said the letter.
It called on the government to make the “right decision” next month, as it finalized the NHS funding for the second half of the current fiscal year.
The pressures facing the NHS include “full speed” resolution of medical backlogs in hospitals, mental health, and community services; and record levels of emergency and urgent care needs.
The letter also pointed out that the number of people hospitalized for Covid-19 is increasing, along with more long-term Covid cases and people with poor mental health.
It said that hospitals are currently adopting enhanced infection control measures that have led to a “severe decline in capacity”, and more employees are either self-isolating or facing stress and mental health problems.
The NHS provider also pointed out that it is “very correct” for employees to take summer vacation, including vacations postponed during the pandemic.
The letter warned that due to Covid-19, the expansion of the vaccination program, and the response is expected to be one of the toughest winters facing the NHS, these pressures may intensify in the coming months.
Chris Hopson, Chief Executive Officer of NHS Providers, said: “Over the past 18 months, the NHS has provided services in extraordinary ways, often with ease.
“Many NHS CEOs believe that, given the scale and breadth of the pressures they face, the next phase of our fight against Covid-19 may be the most difficult.
“They are well aware that now the NHS needs the funds needed to win this fight more than ever.
“The trust leaders strongly welcome the financial support they have received over the past 18 months. The response to Covid-19 is crucial.
“But the government is currently emphasizing the need to repair public finances, and some people believe that NHS funds can’return to normal’.
“The trust leader hopes that the government will clarify to the public the scale of the challenges the NHS will face in the next nine months.
“The massive backlog of care that needs to be dealt with, the more complex Phase 2 vaccination campaign, the further wave of Covid-19 and the prospect of one of the worst winters in history.
“The trust fund and frontline staff are committed to maintaining the quality of care that patients correctly expect through these challenges.
“But this can only happen if the government provides the correct funding for the rest of the year.
“The trust leader is very worried about the current signal from the government that this will not happen.”
Needs include calls for continued hospital discharge funds to free up beds, more financial support for planned surgeries to make progress on the backlog, and emergency funding to expand emergency department, crisis mental health services, and community and ambulance capacity in a timely manner. .
NHS leaders also stated that the 3% salary increase for employees must be funded by the government to ensure that the trust “does not have to occupy other budgets, thus risking patient care”.
It should also establish more and continue to use the private sector to help clear the backlog, instead of repeating the six-month NHS budget that was “confirmed only 13 days before the start of the new fiscal year,” they said.
