‘NHS winter announcements will come as little comfort to public and staff’ – SAM president (16 September)

Commenting on NHS England’s press release ‘Stress tests’ and pre-winter check-ins as NHS ramps up winter prep, published today (Tuesday, 16 September), Dr Nick Murch, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said:

“We welcome the fact that planning for this winter is being prioritised, and seemingly earlier than previous years. However, while NHS England reports it is ramping up preparations, it is concerning the only solutions on the table are “stress tests” for a system that is already unable to cope, and the usual annual vaccination programme.

“NHSE has confirmed this winter is likely to be the busiest on record for emergency departments and ambulance services, while the latest performance data showed over 35,000 patients waited 12 hours or more in emergency departments in August – a 26% increase on the same period last year.

“So I am unsure the public will be reassured the NHS can be winter-proof when it is clearly not even summer-proof. Many hospitals are already under significant strain, delivering care in corridors well before we get into the midst of the winter months.

“We have been clear for some time now that without urgent investment in capacity, workforce and discharge pathways including social care – and honesty about the scale of the problem – patients and staff will continue to suffer.

“These announcements will come as little comfort to the public or to staff across the NHS and we risk losing an entire generation of healthcare workers overseas or to other industries if the current situation continues to be the accepted norm and without the overhaul so desperately needed.”