Think Tanks
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The King's Fund responds to plan announced by the Labour Party to bring down the elective waiting list
Sally Warren, Director of Policy at The King's Fund commented on plans announced by the Labour Party this weekend to bring down the elective waiting list
‘Historically, big waiting lists have led some NHS hospitals to offer extended hours for planned treatment and outpatient clinics at evenings and weekends. Labour’s plan to scale this up across the country has merits; however, this approach relies on NHS staff taking on additional hours at a time when the NHS workforce is demoralised and burnt out from plugging the gaps left by chronic workforce shortages and industrial action. Good will and discretionary effort may prove to be in short supply.
‘Longer term it is also very important that an equal focus is given to shifting more treatment to settings outside of acute hospitals, in line with Labour’s long-stated ambition.
‘Labour’s plans to install more and better equipment, such as MRI and CT scanners, cannot come soon enough. Our analysis shows the UK lags far behind many of its international peers for spending on buildings and equipment, and currently comes bottom out of 19 countries for the number of CT and MRI scanners per person. However, it will take time to get new equipment up and running and the right staff to operate it, which are currently in short supply.’
