Sarah Woolnough, the Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, responded to the latest NHS weekly sit rep data

‘The NHS is already deep into a bleak midwinter. The Health Secretary has said that he cannot guarantee patient safety, with capacity in the system all but maxed out as it deals with a strain of flu that is proving extremely challenging, along with another wave of industrial action, which is putting additional pressure on NHS staff and patient care. This situation must be close to what NHS leaders had on their ‘worst case scenarios’ list when they made their plans for winter.

‘The tale of an NHS winter crisis is an all too familiar one, now told annually – to the immense worry of any patient who must go into hospital over this period, and for staff who are being pushed to their limits to deliver high-quality care. Tackling one of the root causes of these pressures – the pressure in our adult social care system – is something that governments of all stripes have ducked for decades.

‘Despite the hard work of its staff, the social care system is not fit-for-purpose, and the consequences both for people who rely on social care and the wider health and care system are profound. Tens of thousands of patients are stuck in hospital and unable to go home at Christmas because of delays in accessing out-of-hospital NHS care and lack of social care packages, or the hospitals themselves not having transport facilities. These delayed discharges, close to 13,000 in the past week and almost 95% of beds occupied, result in backlogs when it comes to moving people from A&E into hospital beds, and contributes to the indignity of patients being treated on trollies in waiting rooms.

‘We need a better functioning social care system for all the people who rely on these services to lead independent lives. A reformed social care system would also help to mitigate the problems NHS staff and patients face every year.

‘It is why it has been disappointing to see the apparent lack of focus at the heart of government in driving through the social care reforms this government promised. It took too long for the government to establish the Casey review into social care reform, and it was clear that the recent budget treated social care as an afterthought at best. Ministers need to grasp this nettle and put a renewed urgency behind reform that has so far been lacking.

‘There have been countless reviews of the social care system. Many of the key reform questions have already been explored, but delivering the reforms the system needs won’t be possible if there isn’t the political will behind it.’

Notes to editors