2023-08-21 09:58:58
The Guardian news agency As many as 7.6 million people in England were awaiting treatment from the National Health Service (NHS) in June, with two in five patients waiting longer than 18 weeks.
This news report underscores the ongoing impact of the cumulative shortage of medical personnel. and the strike of a group of doctors Including new graduates It has been going on since December to call for reform of the NHS and addressing the hard working conditions of health workers.
Data from the British Heart Foundation show that of the nearly 400,000 patients waiting for heart problems, 37 per cent of them have waited more than 18 weeks and 12,799 have waited more than a year. in spite of having to be treated urgently
While ambulance waiting times have been reported to be faster for heart attack and stroke patients, But waiting times in July turned worse, at around 37 minutes, up from 32 minutes a month earlier.
In July, when emergency patients arrived at the hospital, only 61% of people were treated or referred within four hours of entering the ER. This is the standard set forth in the NHS, although it has risen from 50% in December but is still far from the target of 95%.
The delay was also seen among cancer patients, with only 59% of patients receiving their first cancer treatment within two months of referral from a general practitioner. This is far from the target of 85%. In addition, about 62% of cancer patients see a doctor within 2 months of first diagnosis. less than the target set at 90%
According to the NHS, the overall number of people waiting for treatment at 7,574,649 was the highest since this data was recorded in August 2007. Doctors have been on strike for more than half a year.
Professor Julian Redhead NHS emergency medicine director Julian Redhead said the protests had affected health services. And increasing the pressure on medical personnel who have to work this summer This will be the period when the sickness rate is the highest.
side Saffron Cordery NHS Executive Vice President Saffron Cordery said delays in health services It is like a time bomb from many factors. Whether it’s a limited health budget. Outbreak of the COVID-19 virus Cost of living crisis soaring Shortage of medical personnel and the strike of doctors and nurses.
She urged the government to invest more in the health system. Especially investing in personnel and medical equipment. and asked the group of doctors to stop protesting first because it caused the health service disruption A diversion of resources that should have been used to handle cumulative delays from servicing the original service occurred. Let’s deal with the emerging delay cases.
Saffron urged the government and health unions to discuss a collective agreement as soon as possible.
While a health source told The guardian that queues are likely to skyrocket in the coming months.
Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan, M.D. (Rosena Allin-Khan) Opposition government representative commented that the UK government has failed to address the problem of medical personnel. and without a clear plan It also blames the hard working doctors and nurses.
the other side Dr Sara Scobee Sarah Scobie, Acting Director of Research at the Nuffield Trust, said reducing wait times for millions of patients was no easy feat. And the government will face a difficult path to solve this problem. Although the Prime Minister has promised to improve the situation
She added that NHS personnel are working hard to manage queue delays. This resulted in an increase in service rates in June, but the resolution was not fast enough to reduce all queues.
“Even though there are new measures such as increasing community diagnostic centers. Increase channels for receiving treatment for patients But all these measures cannot reduce the queue in just one night. because the system has limited human resources The protests by doctors will put even more pressure on services in the future.” Dr Scoby said.
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