Latest news with #MeghanaPandit
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Hospital backlog drops to lowest level in two years in England
The backlog in routine hospital treatments in England has reached its lowest level for two for the end of April showed the waiting list dropped to 7.39 million, down from 7.42 million in it is nine years since the NHS has met its target of 92% of patients being seen in 18 weeks – currently it is just below 60%. The government has made meeting the target one of its key missions for this parliament – and on Wednesday announced above-inflation rises for the NHS in the coming years to help achieve to the latest figures, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, said: "We are putting the NHS on the road to recovery." And he added this was "just the start" as the extra investment announced in the spending review, which will see the NHS budget rise by 3% a year in the next three years, combined with reforms that will be announced in the 10-year plan due next month, would help build on what has been drop in the numbers on the waiting list, which covers people waiting for routine treatments like hip and knee operations, came after March saw a rise in numbers – the first time in six months the waiting list had gone a little bit of fluctuation from month to month is normally seen, the government said it was clear the numbers waiting were on a downward peak occurred in September 2023, when the waiting list climbed to nearly 7.8 million. 'Short-term wins' Meghana Pandit, of NHS England, said the progress being made was "thanks to NHS staff"."We are determined to continue on this trajectory for patients as staff work to turn the tide for patients waiting for care, and while huge pressure on services remains, we are starting to see a real difference across our services."Key targets for cancer care and A&E continue to be made, although there are signs of progress, the government said. The health services in the rest of the UK nations are also missing their key Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said significant problems still remained in England, pointing out that the number of 12-hour waits in emergency departments went up last month compared with the previous said a major problem facing hospitals was the lack of social care available in the causes delayed discharges where patients fit to leave hospital cannot go, because they need support to return home or to a care home. That in turn slows the ability of hospitals to see new patients coming in via A&E, or for routine said: "Social care remains unaddressed - and will do for the foreseeable future after the spending review announcement - so patients will continue to wait extended periods of time and often in corridors."The issue remains that, for all the rhetoric of investment, plans and solutions, the government is too focused on short-term quick wins which will fail to deliver effective and lasting change."
Western Telegraph
2 days ago
- Health
- Western Telegraph
NHS waiting list for planned treatment falls to lowest level in two years
An estimated 7.39 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of April, relating to 6.23 million patients – down from 7.42 million treatments and 6.25 million patients at the end of March. These are the lowest figures since March 2023 for treatments and April 2023 for patients. The news comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave the NHS a cash injection worth an extra £29 billion per year. This is just the start. We've delivered millions of extra appointments since July, we are pushing on with our mission to get the NHS working for patients once again Health Secretary, Wes Streeting Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'We are putting the NHS on the road to recovery after years of soaring waiting times, by providing record investment and fundamental NHS reform. 'Thanks to our interventions and the hard work of NHS staff, the overall waiting list has now fallen in April for the first time in 17 years – dropping by almost a quarter of a million since we took office. 'This is just the start. We've delivered millions of extra appointments since July, we are pushing on with our mission to get the NHS working for patients once again as we deliver our Plan for Change.' Within the new NHS figures, the number of longer waits has grown. Some 1,361 patients in England had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of April, up from 1,164 in March. There were 9,258 patients who had been waiting more than 65 weeks to start treatment, up from 7,381 the previous month. This is just the start of the work we're doing to reform care and deliver improvements for patients Meghana Pandit, NHS England Overall, 190,068 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start routine hospital treatment, up from 180,242 at the end of March. The figure had previously fallen for 10 months in a row. NHS England said that, overall, the average time patients had been waiting for planned treatment fell to the lowest level since July 2022 – 13.3 weeks – despite services facing greater demand. Meghana Pandit, NHS England's co-national medical director, said NHS staff were working to 'turn the tide for patients waiting for care'. She said while huge pressure on services remains, 'we are starting to see a real difference across our services – this is just the start of the work we're doing to reform care and deliver improvements for patient'.
