With local Covid figures – infections, hospitalisations and deaths – going down, this week we heard the health secretary announce plans to tackle the NHS England patient backlog. We learnt that there are around six million waiting for treatment, a number that has grown during the pandemic.
The NHS recovery plan was to be announced at the the end of last year, but after a suggestion about delays because of disagreement about funding, it was explained that a “focus on the Covid booster programme” was the main cause.
The health secretary warned that the NHS backlog could get worse before it gets better, with delays continuing to rise until early 2024, particularly as an estimated eight to nine million people stayed away from the NHS at the height of the pandemic.
NHS providers have said that they are ready to “plough on” once the priorities and funds have been agreed. However some senior NHS staff have argued against the setting of “unrealistic targets” as these could “skew clinical priorities”, particularly as there are significant staff shortages yet to be fully addressed.
Mental health
In addition to long Covid effects, reported in earlier pieces, another impact of the pandemic is the large number of people, including children, who are being referred to specialist care for some of the most severe mental health problems, such as self-harm, suicidal thoughts and eating disorders.
Between April and October last year, there was extensive student “down time”, educational disruption, uncertainty and isolation, resulting in almost half a million under-18s being referred to the NHS England for specialist care. The numbers represent around an 80% increase on the same period in 2019. Mental health support teams are being established to tackle this. The Children’s Commissioner has said that a start has been made but there is much to do.
Covid vaccinations
Meanwhile, attendance at the Rye vaccination centre is falling, with around 40% “no shows” last Saturday. We have presumed that some who had booked, walked in elsewhere or decided to opt out.
For the future, in Rye, there will be only Saturday afternoon sessions until the end of March, when the contract between NHS and Clarity Chemists will end. So far there are no bookings at all for March 12 and 19.
Rye vaccination centre is provided by Clarity Chemists @ryepfizer
Image Credits: Anthony Kimber .