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Danielle Jefferies, Policy Analyst at The King’s Fund commented on the latest monthly NHS hospital performance data 

‘Today’s figures reveal a health and care system in a state of steady crisis, with waiting times for care continuing to surge to unprecedented levels. The new government faces some difficult decisions and will need to be honest with the public about the standards of care they can expect.’

‘Thanks to the huge efforts of NHS staff, significant progress has been made in reducing the number of people facing waits of two years or more for planned hospital treatment1. But overall waiting list has continued to grow to 6.6 million people and the number of people waiting more than a year is also rising. 

‘The latest data also shows 12,400 patients stuck in hospital every day despite being well enough to be discharged, in part due to overwhelming pressure on social care services.

‘Delayed discharges use up beds that are desperately needed for people who need to be admitted to hospital and may put patients at risk. In June more than 22,000 people waited more than 12 hours to be admitted to hospital from A&E – a 17 per cent increase on last month. Ambulance service response times are also going back in the wrong direction, with patients waiting 50 minutes for an ambulance when they should be waiting no longer than 18 minutes. 

‘The huge mismatch between capacity and demand in NHS hospitals shows no sign of letting up and rising Covid-19 infections will only exacerbate shortages of staff.

‘The NHS has shown in the past that it can deliver rapid improvements to waiting times and patient care when it is has sufficient capacity. The additional funding from the health and care levy will be vital to helping the NHS continue to make progress on the backlog. But the lack of a fully funded workforce plan undermines ambitions for a better, and more efficient health and care system.’