Commenting on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak‘s speech earlier today (04 January) in which he outlined how “NHS waiting lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly”, Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The PM’s comments seem to overlook the fact there will be no elective recovery without resolving the desperate issues in urgent and emergency care.
“Workforce and capacity remain the two main aspects of recovery to ensure that safe, sustainable and world class acute care can be delivered.
“It is imperative that, politically, urgent and emergency care recovery is given the same importance as elective – non-urgent – recovery.
“The PM’s speech today continues to woefully under-represent the appalling and insufferable conditions currently being experienced by NHS patients and staff.
“This will not engender a belief that the situation will improve in the short term and urgent actions remain imperative to ensure greater harms do not occur.”