Hospital bosses in England are facing a shortage of funds and unable to open extra beds to cope with winter, according to NHS Providers. The organisation, which represents managers, made the warning after the Treasury turned down a plea for an extra £1bn to cover the cost of strikes. Recruitment, which is required to plug gaps in the workforce has also been put on hold. However, the government denies that winter planning has been affected. It points out that the goal of opening 10,000 “virtual” hospitals beds has been met. This is where doctors remotely monitor patients with conditions such as respiratory and heart problems who would otherwise have to be in hospital.
NHS Providers claims the measures being taken by the government may be insufficient as every winter, hospitals usually open extra escalation beds for short periods, to cope with surges in demand. This year, however, hospital bosses believe that these beds are at risk, along with staff recruitment, where currently, one in every ten post is vacant. Industrial action is estimated to have cost the health service £1bn this year.
The treasury has only given the NHS an additional £100m to pay for the cost of strikes, causing palpable frustration amongst NHS Providers Chief Executive Sir Julian Hartley. Just over half of the trusts responded to the NHS Providers’ survey with three-quarters of those saying they are facing a worse financial situation than last year, putting patients’ safety at risk. Last week’s figures revealed a record 7.8 million people on the waiting list. With the NHS having to find the remaining £900m through savings in other areas such as information technology (IT) and maintenance, Sir Julian warns it will be “really difficult” to reduce the number of people waiting for treatment, which the government has made a key priority.
Sir Julian has further added that there is a “sense of dread” amongst doctors, who may call for more strikes that could hit the NHS during winter. Last year, the country saw record waits for ambulances and in accident-and-emergency departments. Preliminary talks between the British Medical Association and Steve Barclay had begun before he was replaced as health secretary by Victoria Atkins on Monday
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