Is more outsourcing the solution to NHS delays? | Letters
I cannot be the only person who is surprised at the figure – £16 billion – that the Government is proposing to pay to the private sector in its efforts to reduce waiting lists for planned care. 20%, January 6).
Your report and response to the proposal of Keep our NHS public raising issues that should concern everyone, i.e. how the private sector plans to staff their treatment facilities, and what the impact will be on an already demoralized and overburdened NHS.
Have Starmer, Streeting and their advisers not seen the figures showing significant falls in the number of people attending university nursing training places? Not surprising if they are confronted with debts of tens of thousands of euros. It is certainly time to remedy this ridiculous situation and provide subsidies for nurse training and other medical skills. Set against the billions the government is handing out to companies that voraciously consume every possible category of treatment (usually with staff who have gained experience and training through NHS resources), this would be a bargain and set the future NHS workforce on a much more positive course. .
Johannes Nieuwman
Golcar, West Yorkshire
The government has made reducing elective waiting times its top priority for the NHS. While this is very welcome, the NHS has not met its elective waiting time targets for a decade. Achieving these goals will require a step change in the way the healthcare system conducts elective surgery and diagnostic appointments. In particular, staff availability is a tough constraint for the NHS (despite the increase in workforce since Covid-19) and is usually the main barrier to increasing activity.
The system should use digital technology to help staff deliver more care and be more productive. Historically, emergency pressures have displaced elective procedures, leading to cancellations. Therefore, any new capacity must be reserved or delivered in separate centers to ensure it is available. Properly managing services that are available more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week will be a game changer for non-emergency healthcare, and will require a step change in service management.
Stephen Farrington-Bell
Healthcare expert, PA Consulting
Many emergency admissions could be avoided (hospital admissions for flu quadruple in England as NHS bosses warn of ‘huge’ strain, January 3). People from care homes are often admitted to hospital because they require intravenous antibiotic treatment and oxygen. Nurses who work in nursing homes are trained to provide this treatment, but in many homes they do not have the permission or authority to use their expertise. For nursing homes where no nursing care is provided, district nurses could provide and supervise this.
The 2019 NHS 10-year long-term plan and hospital home initiatives aim to prevent emergency admissions, but practical solutions to achieve this in care homes now are largely ignored. The benefits are compelling: relieving pressure on ambulances and emergency departments, preventing hospital admissions for vulnerable people and, for some, preventing a highly traumatic end to life.
Bernadette Roden
Enfield, London