procedures

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a running joke among some NHS staff that every year brings the “worst winter ever” for Britain’s hospitals. Now, doctors talk about the seasonal chaos as if it applies all year round, referring to the “winter crisis/summer crisis/current crisis” – delete as applicable – in much the same way. After Covid-19 paused planned procedures, a record backlog of over six million patients has built up, meaning the NHS is now experiencing winter in Easter. Quietly, our hospitals are in the grip of a spring crisis – the worst spring crisis ever. https://youtu.be/s4fOt9M-bmA As the horror of coronavirus patients filling hospital wards has subsided, media focus on NHS pressures has drifted. Yet the latest data available tell a dramatic story. A&E waiting times are at a record high, and long waiting times for beds have also hit a record level: !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r