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Thousands of Patients Face Treatment Delays Amid NHS Budget Crisis
8 Feb
Summary
- Routine operations are being delayed to help NHS boards stay within budget.
- Up to 140,000 patients may have treatment altered by March end.
- Health secretary prioritizes reducing the 7.3 million NHS waiting list.
Routine surgeries are being postponed across NHS England as regional health boards grapple with significant budget deficits, aiming to avoid overspending their annual allocations. This measure could affect up to 140,000 patients by the end of March, with some procedures rescheduled for the new financial year starting April 1.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has identified reducing the current 7.3 million-strong NHS waiting list as a top government priority. However, this objective is challenged by the financial pressures on the 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) responsible for healthcare planning and funding in their respective areas. NHS England has reported a deficit of at least £445 million, leading ICBs to impose caps on surgical procedures.
These caps are not confined to surgeries but also affect outpatient appointments and scans. The limitations have been implemented in various regions, including Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, and Suffolk. Primarily, patients receiving treatment from private providers funded by the NHS are experiencing these delays, with some appointments cancelled and rebooked for April.
