NHS 'on its knees' as cancer and A&E treatments see record delays
The chief executive of the NHS Confederation says leaders are predicting the worst winter on record as staff struggle to cope.
Friday 13 December 2019 15:13, UK
NHS hospitals in England are performing worse than ever as latest statistics show record delays in A&E and for cancer treatment.
For the first time every major A&E department in England failed to meet the target of treating patients within four hours.
Figures published on Friday showed just 81.4% of patients were seen within that time frame in November, compared with 83.6% in October and 87.6% in November 2018.
Some 118 NHS trusts missed the A&E target of 95% in November. Of those NHS patients who had to wait in A&E, more than 1,000 faced delays of more than 12 hours.
In another record low performance, figures show the number of cancer patients starting treatment within two months is just 83%.
And around 4.45 million patients were waiting for routine operations, such as knee and hip replacements, in October - the highest ever level.
It comes as hospitals have been hit with a spike in flu and norovirus cases which health experts say are having a greater impact on services than last year.
The director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin said: "We are facing a very tough winter. The question now is how severe and what toll it will take on patient care and staff.
"It is clear we've seen an early spike in flu, while others have been battling norovirus cases, which are already double the levels we saw last year. This potent mix coming up against an already overstretched service will mean tough choices over winter.
"While systems are coming together and have prepared extensively, without additional social care places and community-based care the pressure on NHS services will continue to rise."
The state of the health service has been at the fore of the election campaign and health experts are now calling on the winning Conservative Party to act on its pledges and tackle imminent threats they say are crippling the NHS.
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "These figures show an NHS on its knees and it is no wonder that most leaders predict that this winter will be the worst on record.
"More and more patients are turning up at emergency departments and there is a limit as to how many they can cope with.
"Frontline staff are working themselves into the ground but with the current level of vacancies, and ever rising demand, there is only so much they can do.
"We need our newly elected government to get to work now with new services in the community that will relieve the pressure on hospitals, as well as action on staffing, social care, and capital investment."
An NHS spokesperson said: "These figures show that NHS teams across the country are providing a record-breaking level of care to the increasing numbers of people, at a time when norovirus and flu is having a greater impact on local services than last year."