- Over nine in 10 trust leaders (96%) said they were extremely or moderately concerned about the impact of seasonal pressures over winter on their trust and local area. The most common reasons for concerns related to financial constraints and staffing provisions.
- The top three greatest risks to the provision of high-quality patient care over winter were delayed discharge (57%), social care capacity (49%) and acute bed capacity (43%).
- Most (79%) trust leaders were very worried or worried about whether their trusts have capacity to meet demand for services over the next 12 months, a similar proportion to last year (78%) and a higher proportion than before the pandemic in 2019 (61%).
- Over a third of trust leaders (35%) rated the current quality of healthcare provided by their local area as very high or high, and over half (57%) rated current quality of healthcare as average (41%), low (12%) or very low (4%). For the coming two years, over two fifths of trust leaders (41%) predicted that the quality of healthcare provided would be very high or high.
- Over half of respondents (57%) were very worried or worried about their trust having the right numbers, quality and mix of staff to deliver high quality healthcare currently, a figure similar to before the pandemic (59%). However, concern about the current level of burnout (75%) and morale (78%) has eased this year compared to last year.
- When asked what actions may need to be taken to manage or improve the financial position of their trust, 85% of respondents said it is very likely (34%) or likely (51%) that their trust will have to reconfigure services.
- Nearly three quarters of trust leaders (71%), and all respondents (100%) from acute specialist and ambulance trusts, said it is very unlikely or unlikely that the NHS can meet the constitutional standards over the next five years. Only 14% of trust leaders think it is very likely or likely.
- When considering enablers for improving patient care, the top three areas trust leaders would like the new government to prioritise is capital investment in estates (54%), capital investment in digital (48%) and social care (41%).
- The majority of trust leaders (98%) were in support of the national policy agenda to shift more care from acute services to community and move care closer to home for patients. However, nearly three quarters of trust leaders (72%) were very worried or worried about whether sufficient investment is being made in public health and prevention in their local area.
- Three in five trust leaders (62%) were very worried or worried that support and infrastructure is in place locally to enable a more integrated service across primary care and secondary care. This has risen from last year, where the figure was 57%.
- Nearly nine in 10 trust leaders (89%) strongly agreed or agreed that their trust is prioritising a focus on quality improvement and trust-wide improvement programmes and over half of respondents (57%) said they would describe their trust’s approach to research and innovation as very well or fairly developed.