NHS SWAMPED BY EPIDEMIC
THERE can be no doubt that Scotland’s NHS has experienced serious pressures this winter.
The result has been staff working incredibly hard, in extremely difficult circumstances, to deliver the care that people need.
There have been many expressions of thanks for teams working across the country. But while these thanks are always welcome, it is not gratitude that doctors or our colleagues want.
Instead, we need a long-term, sustainable plan that closes the growing gap between resources – in particular finances – and the demand for services.
The BMA have long warned this gap is growing in a way that will damage and reduce the quality of care we provide.
And that is why we must not simply dismiss the challenges we have seen as the inevitable increase in pressure that winter brings.
This time of year can bring into sharper focus the struggle our NHS faces to meet demand. There is no doubt that increased cases of flu and other ill patients have a substantial impact.
But ultimately, there is simply not the funding or plans in place to go on as we are, regardless of what season we are in.
The BMA believe that multiple targets, an ageing population and the funding gap are creating a vicious circle, stretching the system and the workforce beyond what they can deliver.
In winter, that means the rapid deterioration of care and the longer waits for treatment that we have seen over recent days.
But over the course of the rest of the year, it also means the ongoing eroding of standards, care and services. Patients deserve better.
That is why there must be action. It is not enough simply to view the winter period in isolation.
First and foremost, we need an NHS that is effectively funded to deliver what we ask of it.
While the recent small increases in the budget are welcome, they are not enough to keep up with demand, so the gap between demand and resources available is continuing to grow.
For example, NHS boards are still faced with having to make substantial savings. This means being forced into decisions over where to direct insufficient resources, rather than being able to make choices that fully meet local needs.
We also need less focus on targets, which can increase pressure on clinical teams. The precise percentage of people seen in under four hours in A&E only gives us a narrow view of how our NHS is coping.
It is time we placed more trust in doctors and everyone in the health service to use their expertise and judgment based on what the patient needs.
By using the data on our health service in a more considered way, we can ensure resources are being directed at the most important things.
A further step that must be taken, and would help our NHS cope with the pressure, is greater action to tackle the growing number of vacancies we see across our workforce.
Long term vacancies in consultant posts increased by more than 40 per cent in a year.
It is not enough to say that we have more doctors when need is considerably outstripping capacity and the doctors we have are struggling to cope.
It is not enough to create extra posts, they must be filled.
Now, there is no quick fix here, and the Government have taken steps in the right direction. But with Brexit only set to make this more of a challenge, there is simply no escaping the fact we need more doctors.
That means concerted work, which we will be more than happy to support, to ensure jobs across all levels are attractive, appropriately rewarded and encourage people to come and live and work in Scotland.
It is imperative we get this right – and increase our medical workforce for the long term.
If we don’t take this kind of action, we risk not only another hugely challenging winter period next year, but an NHS simply unable to cope with the huge demands being placed on it.