NHS ordered to focus on patient safety as hospitals deal with record demand
The IndependentGet the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy NHS leaders have been ordered to “prioritise patient safety” ahead of a key A&E target as hospital beds in England near full capacity. “I’m asking trusts to focus on ambulance delays, handovers and the longest A&E waits.” Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief executive, said the service was “already seeing unprecedented demand going into winter”. She added: “While staff have worked hard to prepare – including expanding virtual wards so more patients can receive hospital-style care at home and delivering over 27 million vaccinations since September – we know services are set to come under even more strain.” Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Prioritising patient safety across the urgent and emergency care pathway is likely to result in elective operations being delayed or cancelled, so waiting lists could rise as a result.” It comes a week after the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged that by July 2029, 92% of patients would be seen within 18 weeks for pre-planned care such as hip and knee replacements. “Every Christmas we see far too many older adults and children admitted to hospital because of flu, and the best way to avoid this situation is getting your flu jab if you are eligible.” Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive at NHS Providers, told BBC Breakfast: “We’ve seen a real rise in, a spike in, the number of children who are suffering from flu in particular, and often that’s a predictor of a later wave coming in adults.
History of this topic
Wes Streeting is right not to do a ‘victory lap’ over the NHS – our hospitals are still a nightmare
The Independent
Record number of patients waiting over 12 hours after A&E admission
The Independent
Corridor care and no privacy: Inside A&E at the height of the NHS winter crisis
The Independent
The NHS is FULL! Shocking new stats show 96% of adult beds are occupied... as norovirus jumps again
Daily Mail
‘Harrowing’ stories of corridor care expose crisis in overcrowded hospitals across England
The Independent
The NHS must treat its ‘corridor care’ crisis as a wake-up call
The Independent
53,000 NHS staff off sick in one week as Wes Streeting says he cannot rule out patients in corridors next winter
The Independent
Hospital wards face ‘pandemic-level’ strain with soaring flu cases triggering winter crisis
The Independent
NHS FLU CRISIS: Doctors warn soaring cases coinciding with severe cold weather could be 'the straw that breaks the camel's back' for crisis-hit health service - as nine hospitals declare critical inci
Daily Mail
GPs to refer patients for hospital tests avoiding consultants in shake-up aimed at cutting NHS waiting lists
The Independent
Hospitals becoming ‘dangerous’ after underinvestment, warns NHS chief
The Independent
Wes Streeting says he feels shame at people being treated in NHS hospital corridors
The Independent
NHS must ‘plan, prepare and pull together’ through winter pressures – minister
The Independent
Top A&E doctors criticise ‘nonsensical’ new NHS guidance
The Independent
Is the NHS in more trouble than usual this winter?
The Independent
AI to be used to stop wasteful A&E visits as NHS faces busiest winter
The Independent
‘Alarming declines’ in patient safety as maternity care deteriorates – report
The Independent
Top doctor warns deaths will rise this winter after A&E target left off Labour milestones
The Independent
Starmer doesn’t understand the NHS crisis – A&E departments like mine are already broken
The Independent
Watch: Wes Streeting announces NHS name-and-shame league tables
The Independent
Hospitals issue warning about key NHS waiting list target as winter crisis looms
The Independent
NHS facing ‘real problems this winter’ and Budget cash will not prevent avoidable deaths, Streeting warns
The Independent
NHS is entering winter ‘in bad shape’ as new figures show rising waits
The Independent
Top A&E doctor accuses NHS leaders of normalising treatment in corridors
The Independent
Undercover footage shows ‘suffering indignity’ faced by patients in emergency care in England
The Independent
NHS still faces winter crisis this year if Labour is elected, warns Wes Streeting
The Independent
Labour pledges 40,000 extra NHS appointments a week
The Independent
Flu and norovirus hospital admissions hit new winter high as doctors warn of NHS ‘permacrisis’
The Independent
Combination of strikes and rise in flu and Covid ‘a perfect storm for the NHS’
The Independent
NHS facing ‘storm of pressure’ as flu cases surge in winter virus outbreak
The Independent
Top doctors warn A&E crisis is making patients sicker as corridor care becomes routine
The Independent
Report slams NHS and Department of Health over poor A&E care
The Independent
Paying hospitals to clear A&E queues risks patient safety, says medical chief
The Telegraph
A chilling warning from Britain’s most senior A&E doctor: Tory winter plan could kill thousands
The Independent
NHS England’s ‘robust plan’ is not enough to avert disaster this winter
The Independent
NHS announces package of measures to boost performance ahead of winter
The Independent
Health Secretary to hold discussion with experts on how to cut NHS waiting lists
The Independent
The NHS is ‘collapsing’ – leading medic warns
The Independent
Alarm raised over ‘worsening’ access to vital NHS care as improvement remains a challenge
The Independent
NHS in ‘endless hamster wheel’ due to PM’s focus on waiting lists – NHS leader
The Independent
Labour will deliver the speed of care patients want, Wes Streeting says
The Independent
Ambulance crisis ‘horror’ forcing Britons to make their own way to hospital
The Independent
NHS in ‘full blown crisis’ and will miss targets to cut cancer waiting lists, MPs warn
The Independent
‘We’re on our knees’ – nurses on picket lines in biggest NHS strike
The Independent
England's NHS works to move low-risk patients out of hospitals amid difficult winter
ABC
Pressure mounts on Government over NHS crisis
The Independent
Witnesses share their harrowing experiences of NHS A&Es this winter
Daily Mail
More NHS trusts declare critical incidents
The Independent
‘Extraordinary pressure’: Top NHS children’s doctor warns of unprecedented A&E waits
The IndependentDiscover Related
Prioritise patient satisfaction at government hospitals: AP Health Minister Yadav to doctors
New Indian Express