Long waits for NHS treatment are:- "unacceptable" says Bill Esterson MP

THE Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson, has described as:- "unacceptable" figures from the NHS which showed that more than 127,000 people were waiting for treatment at Liverpool and Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals at the end of 2021. MP Mr Esterson said it was clear that the longer the Tories were in Government, the longer the waiting lists would get, with the national standard of 92% of people seen within 18 weeks of a referral not being met since 2016. The latest figures from the NHS show that at the end of December 2021, 115,451 people were on waiting lists at 7 Liverpool Trusts including:- Liverpool University Hospitals, Alder Hey, the Clatterbridge Centre and Liverpool Women's, with 6,500 people waiting more than a year. A total of 11.575 were waiting for treatment, at Southport and Ormskirk, with 136 waiting more than a year. At the outbreak of the Covid Pandemic, following a decade of Labour claims:- "Tory mismanagement there were 4.4 million people on the NHS waiting list in England, then a record high. Now, 1 in every 9 people in England is on the NHS waiting list."

Mr Esterson said:- "The NHS went into the latest wave of Covid infections with the longest waiting list ever, understaffed and overstretched. It is no wonder our NHS was stretched to near breaking point and some people did not get the care they needed. The Conservative Government published its elective care recovery plan for the NHS this week but failed to set out how it would address the workforce shortages the NHS is facing. The plan set the Government's ambition as beginning to reduce waiting lists in 2024. The long waits for treatment are unacceptable. People in Sefton Central and the wider Merseyside area are being forced to wait months and even years for treatment, often in pain and discomfort. Now the Government is telling them that, despite hiking up their national insurance, they will continue waiting longer for years to come. It is clear that the longer we give the Tories, the longer patients will wait. Our local health care staff worked heroically throughout the Pandemic, but they have been stretched like never before. The Government must give our NHS trusts the staff and support need to get patients the quality care they deserve when they need it."

Wes Streeting MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:- "Record numbers of people are waiting for care and they are waiting longer than ever before, often in pain and distress. After a decade of Tory mismanagement, the NHS went into the Pandemic with record waiting lists and staff shortages of 100,000. It's not just that the Tories didn't fix the roof when the sun was shining, they dismantled the roof and removed the floorboards. The Conservatives are so incompetent they've come up with a plan that sees patients paying more in tax but waiting longer for care. The longer we give the Conservatives, the longer patients will wait. The last Labour Government reduced waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks. The next Labour Government will secure the future of our NHS, providing the staff it needs to treat patients on time."
 

NHS organisation named as best not-for-profit in UK
Photograph by Be5aVKFv9ho unsplash...

NHS Business Services Authority has been named as the Best Not-for-Profit organisation to work for in the UK at the Best Companies Q1 awards, presented by TV's Dan Walker. The listings are based on feedback from employees themselves about their experiences at work. Best Companies' annual survey gives employees an opportunity to have their say about the organisation and help employers understand what the organisation is doing well and what it might be able to do to be better. On top of this, NHSBSA also placed 4th on the UK's Best Big Companies to Work For.

Michael Brodie, Chief Executive at NHS Business Services Authority said:- "I am so proud that the NHSBSA has been recognised as the best not-for-profit organisation to work for in the United Kingdom. It is a fantastic honour. It is our dedicated and talented people who make this a great place to work. Our colleagues create great teams and provide genuine support to each other and together we have created a culture where people can give and be their best, delivering for customers, the wider NHS and for the taxpayer."

NHSBSA's achievement goes even further as it is also listed for excelling in 4 Regional categories. The placing has significantly improved since 2021:-

► Regional list for the North East - Placed 11.

► Regional list for Yorkshire and the Humber - Placed 23.

► Regional list for the South East - Placed 13.

► Regional list for the North West - Placed 30.

To find out more about the accolades and the event go to:- b.co.uk/lists.