The BBC has revealed that seven NHS trusts missed their cancer, A&E and operations targets; with only two trusts in London meeting their latest A&E target (to see 95% of patients within 4 hours).
This is consistent with NHS data showing that in February 2017 almost all hospital A&E departments (excluding specialist and GP led urgent care centres) failed to see 95% of patients within four hours. Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust was the only London Trust to hit the target that month.
If you want to read more about these figures, you can find them here.
I am very concerned that this is no longer a winter crisis but a perennial crisis; a crisis of the government’s making. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s uncompromising squeeze on Trusts’ finances is leaving London’s health services over-burdened and struggling to provide the best patient care. The strain is taking its toll, with low morale setting in across the workforce.
The government must recognise the need to meet increasing pressures by increasing funding. Expecting Trusts to carry on as they are with no additional resource is neither fair to patients, nor realistic.
This is not complicated; for NHS trusts to hit the government’s targets, they must be properly resourced to do so. And the Government, by failing to do this, is letting every single one of us who relies on the NHS down.
Meanwhile, in City Hall, the Mayor of London is currently consulting on his statutory Health Inequalities Strategy. We know that there is huge variation in health standards across London, and we will be pressing him to look at these figures closely, to ensure all Londoners have access to excellent quality care.
While what we and the Mayor can do in our capacity here at City Hall remains limited; and responsibility for resources and supporting the NHS still falls on the shoulders of the government, we are able to impact a vast array of areas which impact Londoners’ health.
You can contribute to the Mayor’s strategy consultation as either an organisation or an individual here, and I would encourage as many of you as possible to do so.