Recovery from Covid will take years, says health boss
WORK ON ‘MASSIVE BACKLOG’ OF PATIENTS HAS BEGUN BUT WARNING IT WILL TAKE TIME
RECOVERING from Covid will take “years rather than months,” a health boss has warned.
Work to start making the way through a backlog of patients on waiting lists is under way but progress will take time, a meeting of the city, county and Rutland’s clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) was told.
Updating the governing body on the Covid situation, Rachna Vyas, executive director of integration and transformation at the city, county and Rutland’s CCGs, said: “We need to acknowledge that this recovery is going to take years rather than months, particularly for those patients who are waiting for things that are not priority one or priority two.
“The approach will, of course, be based on clinical prioritisation and will be a collective approach. Moving from crisis management effectively into this massive backlog that people are being asked to look at means that we need to coordinate this across the system.”
A move to Covid alert level five meant that the majority of all but urgent emergency, life-saving and some cancer surgery was halted within University Leicester NHS Trust.
The trust is now at level four and reintroducing non-Covid care.
Pre-pandemic there were no patients who had been waiting a year or more for treatment - in January the figure stood at 8,424.
There are also 80,593 patients recorded as incompletes - patients who have been referred on to consultant-led referral to treatment (RTT) pathways, but whose treatment had not yet started.
Ms Vyas said: “We began recovery planning four weeks ago when we were still in the peak, and we’ve completed work so that any patients
Hospitals of who are at the potential risk of harm will be seen and prioritised in the specialties within UHL.
“We’ve also collaboratively developed a plan for restoration of theatre and elective activity, which takes into account all of our independent sector providers. We’ve got a successful waiting list validation process under way, so we are making sure that the waiting list figures are right before we can make sure we are able to get planning for the next couple of months.
“We do have a very significant backlog in terms of patients who have been waiting 52 weeks, there is no getting away from that.
“All of these actions will help us manage that waiting list and help to make sure that patients are getting the care they need as quickly as they can.”
Work is also ongoing to make sure Nuffield and Spire can continue assisting with elective procedures and wards are being converted back from Covid positive to negative treatment areas to prepare for elective patients.
Ms Vyas added that restoring wards that were Covid positive to Covid negative “will help speed up waiting time management from that point of view”.
A building society has announced the results of its quarterly community scheme.
Earl Shilton Building Society, or esbs, has unveiled the winners of its In the Community scheme for the first quarter of 2021.
As part of the scheme, customers decide how £500 will be split between two good causes.
Voting tokens are usually collected at the head office in Earl Shilton, as well as in the Barwell branch.
To enable the scheme to continue throughout the pandemic, voting has moved online to the esbs website.
For the final quarter of 2020, the building society donated £65 to Toys on the Table and £435 to Loros hospice. Two more worthy causes have been chosen for the first quarter of 2021, Heart Link and Lamp.
Heart Link was initially established in 1981 as a support group for parents and families who had a child suffering from a heart defect.
Since then, the group has become increasingly committed to improving facilities for young Glenfield Hospital patients, their families, and to providing much needed valuable medical equipment.
Heart Link’s contributions to the hospital have included a specialised playroom, a helipad, and innovative technology.
Chris Rigby, Heart Link secretary, said: “All of our activities take a great deal of fund-raising, so we are immensely grateful for all donations.”
Lamp has also been assisting people in Leicester since the 1980s, providing free independent mental health advocacy and services in hospitals and communities.
The charity supplies information and support, and also organises and attends community events to challenge stigma, increase awareness, and help those whose lives are affected by mental health.
Sue Langley, CEO of Lamp, said: “With a 400 per cent increase in demand for our services in 2020, we are needed more than ever, and this donation will help ensure we can continue supporting as many people as possible.”