New waiting list targets will achieve nothing if the government refuses to commit to workforce planning
The NHS has some catching up to do. With 6 million people in England currently on waiting lists, and another 1.5 million in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the mismatch between demand and supply in the health system is one of the most serious problems facing the country. This means it is also one of the biggest challenges for ministers, who know that NHS delays, and the problems including deaths that these cause, will be a huge issue – perhaps the single biggest issue – in the next general election.
So it is no wonder that the government is trying to force NHS England’s bosses to fix the problem quickly. Publication of a recovery plan for elective (non-emergency) hospital treatment has already been delayed once. Over the weekend it emerged that a sticking point in negotiations is the deadline that will be imposed for reducing waiting times. Waits of more than two years will have been dealt with by the end of March. But ministers’ demand that waits of more than one year should also be eliminated by March 2024 has met with resistance. That is because the length of time that a person has been waiting is not an indication of their level of need. And if people who have been waiting for a long time for non-urgent treatment are prioritised, then those who are more ill but have been slower to come forward will suffer.
