Operation Red Meat: No 10 plan to clear NHS backlog will fail without ‘tens of thousands' more staff

Any plan to help tackle the NHS backlog will only work if tens of thousands more doctors and nurses are recruited to reduce delays, leading health figures have said.

Downing Street is reportedly considering more money for the health service to help bring down the 6 million people on waiting lists for non-urgent treatment as part of ‘Operation Red Meat’ designed to shore up Tory support for Boris Johnson.

However, senior medics have said nothing will work without a long-term plan for filling the near 100,000 vacancies that have existed in the NHS for months.

Dr Jenny Vaughan, chair of the grassroots lobbying Doctors’ Association UK, said: “Any extra funding for the NHS is clearly necessary given its current parlous state and the number of patients facing increasing uncertainty and suffering as a direct result.

Frontline staff are facing impossible demands on their departments and on their own lives to try to cope with this. But we would like to see an assurance that this is the start of something better and bigger for the NHS, not a scramble to buy the PM out of his current troubles.”

The chair of the British Medical Association said the union has been calling for an “urgent recovery plan” to try and reduce not only the waiting list but also the “hidden backlog” of patients who have not yet been referred, which has been estimated to run into millions.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, said: “As far back as November, the BMA laid out a number of immediate steps the Government should be taking to help manage demand on the health service and its staff this winter, and since then, with the arrival of Omicron alongside ongoing seasonal pressures, the situation has only got worse.”

Among the recommendations are being honest with the public about the “gargantuan scale of the backlog”, with realistic timescales to tackle it, and the limited capacity of existing staff to help manage it despite their best efforts; and providing patients with efficient helplines regarding queries over their hospital appointment and delays, so that doctors – in particular GPs – can focus on caring for patients rather than being burdened with bureaucratic issues about waiting lists.”

The Royal College of Nursing has repeatedly called for more effort to fill the almost 40,000 nursing vacancies in the NHS in England, which it says is putting substantial and increasing pressure on a health system already at capacity. The NHS faces workforce issues on several fronts, including challenges in training and recruiting new nurses, as well as retaining existing ones.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “Every NHS leader recognises the importance of clearing care backlogs as soon as possible, given the impact delays can have on patients’ health.

Of course, everyone wants to move faster – and steady progress is being made to clear treatment backlogs- but it’s vital that any plan is grounded in reality, rather than being rushed through for political ends.

“We need to remember that trusts are facing several constraining factors – such as the ongoing Omicron wave as well as staffing absences and shortfalls – which is hindering their ability to bear down on the care backlog. Indeed, in recent weeks, a growing number of trusts have had to delay planned care because of rising operational pressures.

“We also need to remember that the care backlog extends beyond elective surgery with treatment delays across mental health and community service too.

“So as speculation mounts over the publication of the long-awaited elective recovery plan, it’s vital that politicians work closely with national and local NHS leaders to revisit just how much can realistically be done, and how quickly, given the level of disruption the NHS has faced over the last few months and will continue to face in the weeks ahead.

“This is vital if we’re going to be honest and open with the public about what the NHS can and cannot deliver over the next few years”.