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UNHEALTH-Y SERVICE
NHS crisis deepens as it treats fewer people per medic than before pandemic despite more funding AND staff
The hospitals dispute the figures
THE NHS is under fire after a review found it is treating fewer patients per medic than before the pandemic despite more funding and staff.
Lord Darzi’s report said England overall had seven fewer appointments per consultant per day in 2023/24 than in 2019/20, and 12 per cent fewer operations per surgeon.
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Hospital productivity fell by more than a third in the worst performing NHS trusts, stats show.
Analysis by NHS England, leaked to the Health Service Journal, estimated productivity was down by 39 per cent at Manchester University Foundation Trust between 2019/20 and 2023/24.
Staffing levels were up by 23 per cent but medical activity fell by 24 per cent, it said.
Barts Health, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals, and North Middlesex University Hospital — all NHS trusts in London — also struggled with productivity down between 31 and 34 per cent.
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As staff increased by between 22 and 30 per cent across the three organisations, procedure and treatment numbers dropped by between 11 and 20 per cent.
The hospitals dispute the figures, claiming that not all the recruits were medics, while others were contractors transferring onto payroll.
They said discharging patients faster and "virtual wards" at home also skew productivity stats.
But the figures mirror a nationwide picture of waiting lists increasing, even with more hands on deck.
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Old equipment and staff burnout slow progress
Charlotte Wickens, policy adviser at the King’s Fund think-tank, said: “Reasons behind this may include outdated kit and buildings, low levels of managers to overall staff, high levels of staff burnout, industrial action, issues with hospital flow, and patients having more complex needs than pre-pandemic.
“It is right that politicians focus on the productivity of the health service as it is a high area of public spending.
“But it is also a complex area and spurs to improve productivity can come at a cost, such as staff burnout.”
A key issue is that discharges are too slow and one in eight hospital beds are blocked by patients who are fit to go home but cannot get social care.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have promised to reform the NHS and are due to reveal a 10-year rescue plan in the spring.
Joanna Marchong
Simply throwing more money at the NHS won't fix its issues
Joanna Marchong, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Patients have high expectations for Keir Starmer’s plans for NHS reform.
“The Darzi report makes it clear: simply throwing more money at the NHS won’t fix its systemic issues.
“The government must heed these warnings to deliver the improved performance that hardworking taxpayers deserve.”
A North Middlesex spokesman said: “We rapidly expanded our staff cohort in this period and those staff do valuable activity that isn’t accounted for in these figures, skewing how our productivity is represented.”
Barts Health NHS Trust said: “We brought 2,000 porters, cleaners, security and domestic staff in-house from an external contractor. We are seeing more patients than ever before.
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“After further analysis of the productivity gap with NHS England we now estimate it to be about 5 per cent.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “Our ten-year plan will reform the NHS so we get more bang for taxpayers’ buck and clear the backlog faster.”
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