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NHS boss Amanda Pritchard says patients not always getting care they deserve | |
(34 minutes later) | |
Patients are not always getting the care they deserve, says the head of NHS England. | |
Amanda Pritchard told a conference the pressures on hospitals, maternity care and services caring for vulnerable people with learning disabilities were her biggest concerns. | |
She even suggested the challenge facing the health service now was greater than it was at the height of the pandemic. | She even suggested the challenge facing the health service now was greater than it was at the height of the pandemic. |
Despite making savings, the NHS still needs extra money to cope, she said. | |
Next year the budget will rise to more than £157bn, but NHS England believes it will still be short of £7bn. | Next year the budget will rise to more than £157bn, but NHS England believes it will still be short of £7bn. |
Ms Pritchard told the King's Fund annual conference in London that demand was rising more quickly than the NHS could cope with. | |
"I thought that the pandemic would be the hardest thing any of us ever had to do," she said. | "I thought that the pandemic would be the hardest thing any of us ever had to do," she said. |
"Over the last year, I've become really clear.... it's the months and years ahead that will bring the most complex challenges." | "Over the last year, I've become really clear.... it's the months and years ahead that will bring the most complex challenges." |
'Budgets will only stretch so far' | 'Budgets will only stretch so far' |
She said the thing that kept her and health leaders awake at night was whether patients were getting the standard of care they deserve. | She said the thing that kept her and health leaders awake at night was whether patients were getting the standard of care they deserve. |
"We know we cannot always answer yes to that question." | "We know we cannot always answer yes to that question." |
She told delegates at the conference that discussions were under way with the government about money ahead of the 17 November Budget. | She told delegates at the conference that discussions were under way with the government about money ahead of the 17 November Budget. |
She said the NHS continued to find efficiency savings, ensuring it spent every £1 of taxpayer money wisely. | She said the NHS continued to find efficiency savings, ensuring it spent every £1 of taxpayer money wisely. |
But she added: "NHS budgets will only stretch so far." | But she added: "NHS budgets will only stretch so far." |
Ms Pritchard's warnings come as the backlog for hospital treatment has hit a record seven million, and long waits for ambulances and in A&E continue to cause concern. | Ms Pritchard's warnings come as the backlog for hospital treatment has hit a record seven million, and long waits for ambulances and in A&E continue to cause concern. |
But she praised the "sheer hard work and ingenuity" of staff, saying without their efforts the impact on patients would be worse. | But she praised the "sheer hard work and ingenuity" of staff, saying without their efforts the impact on patients would be worse. |