Ease rules for winter, says NHS boss
Pandemic-style curbs may be an option to relieve pressure on health service if seasonal crisis hits hard
An NHS boss has said some measures taken by hospitals at the height of the pandemic could be needed once again to deal with the winter crisis.
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation lobbying group, called for an “honest conversation” with the public about the capacity of the health service this winter.
Mr Taylor admitted the NHS may not be able to provide “some of the services that we would like to”, urging the public to appreciate the pressures on doctors and nurses, with hospitals already experiencing levels of strain usually seen in the winter.
Likely measures include services being moved between hospitals to free up capacity, and internal market competition being put aside to enable more collaboration.
Hospitals may also be encouraged to focus on specific treatments where appropriate, helping to keep patients away to prevent overcrowding.
The Daily Telegraph understands hospitals will be urged to prioritise protecting patients, which could mean not following all of the regulations that would normally be covered.
For example, trusts will not be judged “harshly” when patients are left in corridors while waiting for beds because this eases pressure on ambulances and avoids them not being brought in at all.
Routine inspections by the Care Quality Commission were halted when the first lockdown was introduced, and the organisation said in May it has no plans to return to routine frequency-based inspections.
In an interview with Times Radio yesterday, Mr Taylor said: “The two things that were critical about Covid was, first of all, we said in a sense, ‘don’t worry about the rules, the regulations and the targets, do whatever you need to do to solve the problem’. I think we need that similar spirit at the moment.
“The second thing we did in Covid was we, the public, made a really big contribution … we did things to try to relieve the pressure on the health service.”
Mr Taylor accepted IVF treatment was among services that could face delays, but stressed patients must come forward when they feel they need to.
“It may be that some of the services that we would like to be able to provide, we won’t be able to in the face of the challenges.”
He went on to suggest virtual care, in which patients are encouraged to receive treatment at home using technology including wearables, would play a central part in efforts to ease the worst of the expected winter crisis.
“As I’m sure you’ve heard people say, we’re in August and it feels, in the health service, like we’re in the middle of winter.
“We’ve got winter to come and there are worries about flu and about another Covid variant, so there’s huge pressure.”
Mr Taylor, a former political adviser to Sir Tony Blair, was criticised for “over-dramatising” the cost of living crisis in a letter to ministers last week.
Labelling the situation a “humanitarian crisis”, he warned: “Many people could face the awful choice of skipping meals to heat their homes and having to live in cold and very unpleasant conditions.
“This could lead to outbreaks of illness and sickness around the country and widen health inequalities, worsen children’s life chances, and leave an indelible scar on local communities.”
Last October, Mr Taylor called for the introduction of “Plan B” Covid restrictions some 50 days before such measures were imposed by Boris Johnson.
He also urged the Prime Minister to draw up an even tougher package of “Plan C” measures, which was never introduced, and this April suggested restrictions would be needed to help the health service cope with a rise in cases.
But the Confederation has now insisted it does not want to see any new return to coronavirus curbs as the number of positive tests continues to fall.