NHS crisis: This is what’s caused it and how we can solve it
https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/nhs-crisis-this-is-whats-caused-it-and-how-we-can-solve-it/
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Evidence of the crisis is all too visible. At the end of February 2024, some 6.24m individuals were waiting for 7.54m National Health Service (NHS) hospital appointments in England alone. This compares to 2.5m appointments in 2010 when the Conservative government came to office. It increased to around 4.6m in February 2020 just before the pandemic, and hit 6.2m in February 2022 and has increased since then.
The consequences are deadly. Some 300,000 people a year are dying whilst waiting for a hospital appointment. Millions have a long wait for ambulance and treatment in accident and emergency departments. In 2023, 14,000 people died in Accident & Emergency departments at hospitals. The deceased are typically the less well-off and suffering from delays and cancellations of hospital appointments.
The NHS has been weakened by years of underinvestment. It has fewer doctors and nurses per person than most of its peer countries. Due to lack of beds, staff and equipment, Britons die sooner from cancer and heart disease than people in many other rich countries. In 2022, over 39,000 people in England died prematurely of cardiovascular conditions including heart attacks, coronary heart disease and stroke.
It is not only hospitals; people are finding it hard to see a family doctor, often known as general practitioners (GPs). In 2015, the government promised to increase the number of GPs by 5,000 by 2020, but February 2024 there were the equivalent of 1,862 fewer fully qualified full-time GPs than there were in September 2015. Despite the pandemic and an ageing population, government funding for GPs in 2022-23 was 3.3% lower than in 2018-19. One in 20 patients have to wait at least four weeks to see a GP, a necessary precursor for most hospital appointments.
The UK has 49 dentists per 100,000 people, the lowest rate among G7 countries Last year, 23,577 dentists performed NHS work, down 695 on the previous year, and over 1,100 down on pre-pandemic numbers. Low rates of pay are cited as a major reason for dentists’ refusal to accept NHS patients. People are reduced to using pliers to pull their own teeth out and use glue to manage dental problems. Lack of oral health can increase the risk of gum, mouth and heart disease.
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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/nhs-crisis-this-is-whats-caused-it-and-how-we-can-solve-it/
