The research results on the performance of UK health centres in 2023 show that the performance of the NHS has been a disaster.
More than 250 patients a week have died due to extremely long waits in the emergency department and medical malpractice. The current crisis is deadly, and nurses in the country’s hospitals must witness this reality every time.
The NHS crisis has many consequences and has caused the death of many patients. This article deals with the consequences of the UK healthcare system’s weaknesses for the British.
NHS failure to reduce patient waiting times
According to the National Health Service (NHS) goals, by March 2024, 76% of patients who visit the emergency department will be admitted to the same hospital, transferred to another health centre, or discharged within a few hours. However, new statistics show that the British government could have done better. According to the findings of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), 44,417 patients have waited more than 12 hours in the emergency department during this period just to be admitted.
Rising deaths with the UK Healthcare system’s weaknesses
The UK Healthcare system’s weaknesses have caused an increase in deaths in hospitals. Studies show that for every 72 patients who spent 8 to 12 hours in the emergency room, one additional death was reported. Meanwhile, according to the findings of the RCEM, the risk of death of patients increases after 5 hours of waiting in the emergency room. Also, the death rate of patients has increased with the longer waiting time.
Waiting for 12 hours in the emergency room of hospitals
More than 1.5 million patients have waited at least 12 hours in the emergency department of hospitals in this country in 2023. The UK Healthcare system’s weaknesses have led to irregularity in the admission of patients. Of this amount, 65% were only waiting for an empty bed for admission. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine in England has announced that these statistics do not include thousands of patients who inevitably waited in ambulances and died due to lack of facilities and overcrowding in hospitals.
New record of patient waiting time
Official statistics in England show that the number of patients who waited half a day to receive medical care in the emergency department has set a new record. In its latest report, the NHS announced that 54,308 patients waited more than 12 hours in January. This expectation was merely for the hospital authorities to decide on their admission. This amount shows a 23% increase compared to last December’s statistics, which reported 44 thousand 45 people.
Increasing visits to the emergency department of hospitals
NHS officials say the emergency department experienced a busy month in January.
They reported a 10% rise, with 2.23 million ER visits last month compared to the previous year. According to statistics, the number of patients who waited at least four hours in the emergency department has increased. The number of these patients increased from 148,282 people in December to 158,721 people in January, a 7% increase.
The long treatment process of cancer patients
The latest stats show that 65.2% of suspected cancer patients received medical services within 62 days. According to the target, this amount should be 85%. In addition, the statistics from last November reveal that one out of every ten people diagnosed with cancer and referred for treatment within 31 days remained unlucky. An unprecedented number of cancer patients have resorted to private care. According to statistics from the Private Healthcare Information Network, nearly 300,000 people have paid for chemotherapy over the past five years.
The labour shortage in the UK health system
Statistics show that the UK suffers from a severe shortage of nurses and a significant dependence on foreign labour. New data shows that the employment of foreign nurses in this country has increased by two-thirds since 2019. In the same year, the British government promised to hire 50,000 more nurses by the end of 2024. Statistics show that the possibility of fulfilling this promise is not unlikely, but according to the research of Nuffield Trust, a significant part of these people were hired from abroad. If the competition to attract foreign labour increases, the UK health system will not be able to compete with other markets.
Falling levels of public satisfaction with the NHS
The level of public satisfaction with health services has reached an all-time low. According to the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, only 24% of people said they were satisfied with the performance of the NHS last year. The rest of the participants in this survey have expressed dissatisfaction due to issues such as the long waiting time to receive medical services. In fact, from emergency to dental services, public satisfaction with all health services is low. Dissatisfaction with the NHS is at its lowest level since statistics began to be collected in 1983.
Sunak’s failure to fulfil treatment promises
At the beginning of last year, Sunak announced that reducing hospital waiting times was one of his government’s five priorities. However, the evidence shows that he still needs to succeed in gaining the satisfaction of the health and treatment staff. The UK Healthcare system’s weaknesses have led to long patient waiting times.
The UK government’s recklessness in solving the problems of the NHS
Health experts have described the long waiting list for patients as catastrophic. They say that health care is not provided equally. The UK government has reduced public welfare expenses, including the health sector, to reduce the budget deficit. The action of the UK government has resulted in protests and strikes by the medical staff. Nurses, ambulance drivers, and young doctors have stopped working several times in recent months and crippled the healthcare system of this country. The protesters have warned that they will continue their protests until the government does not fulfil their demands.
