New figures show pressures on the NHS continue to grow
09 June 2017
- NHS England publishes monthly performance statistics for April
- Figures show that the demand for services continues to grow with worrying signs that the system is struggling to cope
- We say figures show there has been no respite for the NHS but trusts continue to do all they can
NHS England has published the monthly performance statistics for April. They show trusts are continuing to respond to growing pressures, but there are further signs that they are struggling to cope.
Demand for services continues to grow:
- Attendances at A & E in April were four per cent higher than for the same month last year
- The number of emergency admissions through major “type 1” A & Es rose by nearly five per cent compared with April last year.
The NHS is doing all it can to respond to these pressures:
- In the year to April routine hospital treatment rose by more than five per cent
- The number of diagnostic tests in April this year was nearly ten per cent higher than for the same month in 2016
However there are worrying signs that the system is struggling to cope:
- Unusually for this time of year, three of the eight cancer targets were missed in April
- The two week standard from urgent GP referral to seeing a consultant was missed for only the second time since 2009
- Fewer than one in five trusts with major “type 1” A & Es met the target to see 95 per cent of patients within four hours
- The proportion of delayed transfers of care attributable to social care rose to its highest level since recording started in 2010
Responding to the figures, the chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, said:
“These figures show there has been no respite for the NHS. The concerns about the ability of the health service to respond to growing demand – which became so pressing during the winter – are still with us.
We need urgent decisions to ensure the NHS has the capacity to deal with the coming winter, and beyond that, to respond to longer term pressures.
“It is clear that trusts are continuing to do all they can. But it is equally clear the situation is unsustainable.
“Despite political uncertainty, we need urgent decisions to ensure the NHS has the capacity to deal with the coming winter, and beyond that, to respond to longer term pressures.”