The NHS and social care system is being held together by the efforts of its staff but there is a limit to how much they can cope with, the Government’s own health sector watchdog has warned.
The health sector is “straining at the seams,” with more than a million older people not getting the care they need, according to the annual report of the Care Quality Commission, which said the the Government should realise that the resilience of nurses, doctor and other workers was not inexhaustible.
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said the findings made worrying reading. “Really this tells you everything you need to know about the state of care today – it’s like a rubber band that’s been stretched as far as it will go and can’t stretch any further,” she said.
The commission was set up by the Government to regulate and inspect health and social care services, and its chief executive Sir David Behan said the conclusion of its latest report was that the future of many services was “precarious” as unhealthy lifestyles add pressures to a system that is already struggling.
The damning report also predicted that the quality of service offered to people would inevitably fall. “And that may mean that the safety of some people is compromised,” Behan said.
The NHS is “struggling to cope with 21st Century problems“ including more people with illnesses linked to unhealthy lifestyles, he said. “The NHS was created when the big issue was attempting to deal with diseases like TB and polio. Today the NHS and social care are dealing with obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancers and dementia. We are living longer but not living healthier so I think what we are signalling is that the system now and into the future has got to deal with those increased numbers of older people who are going to have more than one condition.”
Staff Shortages
While finding that the overall quality of care had been maintained this year, the health sector watchdog warned that some services that had been rated “good” had deteriorated by the time inspectors returned.
The report found that 26% of mental health services, 23% of adult social care services and 18% of hospitals dropped at least one rating between inspections. As well there was a fall in the number of nursing home beds and the level of staffing.
There was a substantial rise in the numbers of patients needing care with bed occupancy rates in acute hospitals at record levels and the number of ambulance calls up by a fifth since 2011-12. And yet the service was already working with insufficient staff in some areas and NHS staff vacancies across all services had risen by 16% in the year to the end of April 2017.
Behan said an immediate priority was solving the funding of social care. Ministers have promised to publish a plan by the end of the year after providing an extra £2bn over the next three years to keep services going.
John Appleby, the director of research at the Nuffield Trust, a health think-tank, said the report showed the healthcare system was struggling to cope and the warnings must be seen in the context of the unsustainable financial squeeze.
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the report was “ damning”. “Next month the Chancellor in his budget must finally put the NHS on secure financial footing for the long term,” he said.
The report by the health sector watchdog is based on its inspections of hospitals, ambulance services, GP surgeries and mental health care in England.
by Bob Graham
The post NHS: Health Watchdog Warns of Breaking Point appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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