Plans to help cut waiting lists welcome but mental health services ‘should not be an afterthought’

Responding to an announcement from the government to send  ‘crack teams’ to support hospital trusts in areas where more people are out of work and waiting for treatment is cutting waiting lists, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said:

"Despite extreme pressure and significant challenges, trust leaders and staff are doing everything they can to see patients as quickly as possible including introducing innovations to boost productivity and become more efficient.

"No-one wants patients to wait a moment longer than needed so any initiatives which mean patients are seen even faster will be welcomed- but these must be done in partnership with local teams who know their communities inside out.

"It is essential too that any new proposals to drive down waiting times address the huge challenges facing mental health and community services, too.

"With poor mental health the leading driver of ill-health related economic inactivity, any approaches to reduce waiting lists must also address care backlogs across mental health services.

“These services should not be an afterthought.

"National leaders also need to look at the complex range of factors which can have an impact on how quickly trusts see and treat patients, including differences in health inequalities in their local community and demand for care.

"With calls this week to find further stringent savings, trust leaders are increasingly warning that hard won progress to transform services, reduce waiting lists, and see patients as quickly as possible could be jeopardised. The need to scale back or stop services and reducing staff is a bleak, but increasingly likely, prospect.

"Investing in social care and wider local government services would also help the NHS pound go further."

“With the 10-year health plan and comprehensive spending review coming up, this is a critical opportunity to recognise the clear economic and wider benefits that can be derived from investing in those vital health services that get to the root cause of spiralling demand.”