The NHS Confederation has published a new report looking at the challenges faced by the NHS dealing with the next phase of COVID-19 response - which involves restarting a range of services whilst there remains a significant risk of transmission of the virus - along with a series of recommendations around changes in policy and practice.
Chief Executive, Niall Dickson, has also written to the Prime Minister to outline the support the NHS will need, urging that “a level of realism about what can and what cannot be achieved safely in the coming months,” will be essential.
This will involve managing the expectations of the general public as waiting lists are expected to increase considerably. At the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak more than four million people were waiting for routine procedures. The media yesterday (June 10) began reporting that this figure could rise to 10 million before the end of the year.
The report ‘Getting the NHS back on track: planning for the next phase of COVID-19’ is part of the NHS Confederation’s ‘NHS Reset Campaign’. Its conclusions and recommendations are based on in-depth engagement with members and it has been published to support and influence forthcoming guidance from NHS England and NHS Improvement on how the next phase of the NHS response to the pandemic will be managed.
The key challenges identified are: funding; capacity; rehabilitation; health inequalities; regulation and inspections; system working; and managing public expectations.
The report puts forward a number of practical solutions for the phase three guidance and beyond, including:
• An extension of emergency funding across all sectors of the NHS
• Putting in place an ongoing arrangement with the private sector, which will be vital to provide capacity to respond to the backlog of treatment
• A review of the impact of COVID-19 on the NHS and social care workforce
• A delay in returning to the inspection regime of the CQC to take into account the positive changes that have been achieved as a result of the lighter touch approach to regulation that has been in place during the pandemic
• A commitment to acknowledge and address health inequalities wherever possible through upcoming guidance and policy reform
• Clarity over when there will be a return to the greater autonomy local organisations had before COVID-19, which should be considered as part of a wider move to less central command and control when the pandemic has subsided
• A call for assurance that there will be a fully operational and robust test, track and trace system, as well as appropriate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) as services are resumed.
The letter to the prime minister clarifies: “Before any further measures are taken to life restrictions, NHS leaders want to see a robust rationale, including an honest reflection of risk and clear communication to health and care services and to the wider public.”
The letter, report and more details of the NHS Reset Campaign are all available on the NHS Confederation website, using the following links:
Getting the NHS back on track: planning for the next phase of COVID-19
