3 days ago
NHS struggles to improve under Labour as waiting lists rose in June and patients still facing delays in A&E
NHS LISTS GROW
While NHS England said staff 'pulled out all the stops' in June the backlog increased for the second time this year
THE NHS is struggling to get better under Labour, figures suggest.
Waiting lists rose in June and there are still unacceptable numbers of patients facing day-long delays in A&E, they show.
1
Data confirmed the recent British Medical Association strike was less damaging than previous ones.
And while NHS England said staff 'pulled out all the stops' in June the backlog increased for the second time this year, from 7.36million to 7.37million.
Dr Becks Fisher, of the Nuffield Trust think tank, said: 'The figures show the NHS waiting list has gone up slightly after falling over most months this year.'
She added: 'It is still treating fewer patients than are being referred.'
Danielle Henry, of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, added: 'The NHS needs to rapidly increase the amount of activity it delivers if it is going to successfully reduce waiting lists by one million each year.'
Official figures show improvements to A&E delays, cancer treatment times and ambulance response times but doctors said the system was still struggling.
Dr Nick Murch, of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: 'Clinicians across the UK are reporting this week as one of the worst they have experienced.
"Figures show an unacceptable amount of people — 35,467 — waited over 12 hours in emergency departments, often suffering avoidable harm.'
Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan said: 'This Government is doing no better than treading water.'
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'We are getting on with the job of delivering progress in the face of strike action, and we will continue to put patients first.'
