In response to a Conservative Party conference speech today (4 October) by health and social care secretary Thérèse Coffey, NHS Providers' interim chief executive Saffron Cordery said:

"We welcome the health and social care secretary's praise for NHS staff and carers as 'the pride of Britain'. Staff in acute, mental health, ambulance and community services as well as in general practice are moving heaven and earth to deliver high-quality care to patients in very demanding circumstances.

"On top of her 'A, B, C and D' list of priorities we desperately need 'W' for workforce. With more than 132,000 vacancies across trusts piling pressure on already overstretched staff, trust leaders would have liked to have heard about how the government will tackle severe health and social care workforce shortages.

"We need a huge workforce boost and a long-term, fully costed and fully funded national plan to help the NHS attract and retain the staff it needs, otherwise waiting lists will grow longer and patient care will suffer.

"Government's failure to fully fund below-inflation NHS pay awards this year has also added pressure to national NHS budgets already being eroded by inflation.

"It feels like winter already right across the NHS for staff working flat out in the face of unprecedented demand, exceeding pre-pandemic activity in many areas and having virtually eliminated the longest waits for planned treatment. But everyone is braced for the twin threat of potential COVID-19 and flu waves which would make the next few months even tougher.

"The £500m adult social care fund already announced is welcome but an underfunded, overstretched social care system needs even more support, to help ease pressure on the NHS and hospital beds."