Latest NHS performance stats show the green shoots of NHS recovery remain fragile

Responding to the latest monthly NHS performance data, Danielle Jefferies, Senior Analyst at The King’s Fund, said: 

‘The green shoots of NHS recovery remain fragile. While there have been slight improvements in patient experience surveys¹, these monthly figures demonstrate how shaky wider efforts to tackle waiting lists are. The latest figures show another small decline in the proportion of people seen for planned treatment within the 18-week target and a rise in the overall waiting list. 

‘Patients are still confronted with lengthy waiting times, slower than anticipated ambulance response times, and crowded hospitals. Regularly missed targets for various indicators across NHS services are now a predictable occurrence each month, and it’s clear that there is a long road ahead to get the NHS back on its feet. 

‘Over recent weeks, the government has fleshed out its ideas for increasing patient access to care and creating greater transparency on performance. Hospital league tables, the new ‘NHS online’ initiative and funding to boost the pay of social care staff are all designed to improve health and care services. But ahead of an Autumn Budget that is not expected to provide much more financial support to the health and care system, the conundrum facing this government is the same that troubled previous administrations – how do they keep down costs while resolving industrial action and keeping afloat during winter, all while improving performance in the long term. The government has set a clear priority to improve the 18 weeks target for routine care, but it remains unclear what the recovery plan looks like for many other services that patients rely on.’