Health professionals say the NHS is at risk of a surge in hospital admissions, mass cancellations and increasing difficulties in discharging patients if such pressures are not addressed, potentially combined with a further wave of Covid and a bad flu season. The warnings come after Health Secretary Steve Barclay said on Sunday there needed to be a “real sprint” in Whitehall to prepare for September, telling The Telegraph hospitals faced “very serious challenges coming down the road in the autumn”. . . Julian Tang, a clinical virologist and honorary associate professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, said the cost-of-living crisis could affect the NHS if people could not heat their homes or have enough food. “Unless there is a lot of government financial support, I think this winter is going to be very difficult for a lot of people,” he said, noting that the cold can worsen conditions from heart disease to chronic lung disease and diabetes, while infections from Covid or flu can also make such illnesses worse. “All of this will result in higher NHS admissions for worsening these chronic conditions due to colds, not being able to heat their homes and not being able to eat enough – with potential malnutrition, particularly in children, as people have to buy cheaper and less healthy food due to rising food bills – and the added burden of seasonal respiratory virus infections,” he said. Tang added that it may also become more difficult to discharge patients, an issue that is already fueling problems including slow ambulance response times and a shortage of social care and nurses. “As I saw during my doctor days, in the winter months some patients will not want to go home – to a cold, damp house, alone, with insufficient heating and food – when they can get a warm hospital bed with three meals a day and helpful, friendly staff and other patients to chat to.” Tang called for more funding for the NHS and financial support for households to deal with such pressures. But on Monday No 10 ruled out any further support for tackling the cost of living crisis, saying it was a matter for a future prime minister to deal with. While the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, welcomed Barclay’s emphasis on urgency, she highlighted the scale of the problems, calling for a long-term, sustainable workforce plan as soon as possible and long-term investment and reform of social care. “It is important that the Secretary of State called it for what it is. He is right that we need to act immediately, especially in terms of social care,” he said. “There is widespread pressure across the NHS and we know that in urgent and urgent cases demand for care continues to outstrip capacity, putting patient care and safety at risk.” “There has been no downtime in recent months and NHS trusts are bracing for a difficult period ahead, with the potential for further waves of Covid and a bad flu season.” Dr Naru Narayanan, the president of the HCSA, the hospital’s doctors’ association, agreed. “We are extremely concerned about the impact of the double whammy of flu and Covid this winter on an NHS that is creaking under the pressure of staffing problems,” he said. “There is a real risk of seeing businesses cancel en masse and an even bigger crisis if we don’t act proactively.” Narayanan called for the reintroduction of enhanced cleaning regimes in hospitals, wider use of face masks and a possible extension of the autumn Covid booster programme. For now, everyone over 50 will be offered another Covid vaccine this autumn, along with healthcare staff and other specific groups such as care home residents. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST While Barclay revealed plans to bring in more staff from abroad to tackle staffing problems, particularly in social care, experts stressed the importance of retaining existing healthcare staff – and addressing concerns over the recent pay offer. Patricia Marquis, director of the Royal College of Nursing for England, said: “Mr Barclay is right to say that the social care crisis in England needs fixing. Official figures show that there is a huge problem with patients not being able to go home from hospital because there is no proper social care package and there is a serious shortage of nursing staff.’ He added: “The failure of ministers to tackle the workforce crisis is putting patients at risk and has left nursing with no option but to consider industrial strike action. Soon we will vote our members.”
