Timebomb ticks for forgotten patients
THE NHS faces a “ticking timebomb” of patients who are not getting the help they need during the Covid-19 crisis, health leaders warned yesterday.
Latest figures show A&E visits plummeted by 57 per cent in April compared with the same period last year, down 1.2 million to just 916,000 – the lowest monthly total on record.
The number of people waiting over a year to start treatment almost doubled in March, as routine procedures were suspended to free up hospital beds.
Overall, the number on waiting lists for elective treatment fell slightly to 4.2 million. But experts warned this was due to a drop in referrals, meaning fewer patients are being added to the lists than usual.
They also fear that Britons are staying at home when they should be seeking help due to fear of infection.
Dr Nick Scriven, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The sustained drop in A&E attendances is a significant concern given that many of those who put off coming to hospitals as long as they possibly could during the first wave will be seeking treatment and could potentially be in worse conditions. This is a ticking timebomb and it will be exacerbated by a myriad other pressures in the coming weeks.”
Saffron Cordery, head of NHS Providers, said there was “pent up demand” and said hospital chiefs were “extremely concerned” that people are delaying seeking care.
She said: “We continue to ask the public to stay at home if well, but to come forward for treatment when they need it.”
In mid-March, the NHS cancelled all non-urgent operations for three months to free up 30,000 hospital beds for coronavirus patients.
NHS England data showed the number admitted for routine treatment, such as knee and hip operations, dropped by a third to 207,754 from 305,356 in March 2019.
Those waiting more than a year for treatment almost doubled from 1,613 in February to 3,097 in March.
The proportion who started treatment within 18 weeks of an urgent referral fell to 79.7 per cent against a 95 per cent target, the lowest level since 2008.
Surgeons called for the creation of Covid-negative operating theatres to allow more procedures to resume.
Professor Derek Alderson, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “Today’s figures are a sobering reminder of the backlog of operations that we need to turn our hand to in the coming months.
“Even more worrying than the headlines are the hidden patients yet to be added to the list because referrals are at their lowest recorded level.
“At the start of the crisis, postponing surgery was the right thing to do. Now we are past the first wave, it’s important we return to helping all those who have been patiently waiting for essential spine, heart or brain surgery. Many are waiting in pain, their health deteriorating. They deserve to know they will get the help they need, before the year is out.”
Urgent cancer referrals fell from 40,000 a week to 10,000 a
week by mid April, but have since risen to around 20,000.
Lynda Thomas, CEO of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “Fears surrounding diagnosis and treatment have not gone away during the crisis – they have multiplied – and today’s results are the first indication of how seriously cancer services could be impacted by coronavirus.” NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said it was an “amazing achievement” that hospitals had cared for every coronavirus patient.
He added: “Expanded community services helped free up capacity for Covid patients. But this did not mean an increase in the number of patient discharges from hospitals to care homes, which have fallen by over 40 per cent. A&E attendances were down, but the majority of these were for lower-risk conditions.
“Urgent cancer referrals are picking up and the NHS has launched a campaign reminding people of the importance of seeking care for urgent and emergency conditions.”