400K NHS OPS WAIT
Health Sec accused of blaming health backlogs on pandemic
THE number of patients waiting over a year for an operation has soared from 1,600 pre-Covid to 400,000.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the pandemic has significantly intensified pressures as he set out issues facing the NHS.
But Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting hit back, saying the health service went into the pandemic with record waiting lists and 100,000 staff shortages.
He added: “Steve Barclay is returning to the discredited Conservative script claiming that Conservative NHS backlogs are Covid backlogs. It’s not that the
Conservatives didn’t fix the roof when the sun was shining, they dismantled the roof and ripped up the floorboards.”
Last week, public spending watchdog the National Audit Office warned that Tory plans to reduce long health service waits were at serious risk.
At a session of the Treasury Committee, an Office for Budget Responsibility official warned of rising inflation and household bills in 2023.
Economist David Miles said: “2023 is going to be a very difficult year, very likely, but the years after it will not be quite as bad”.