The NHS is treating fewer patients than it was pre-pandemic despite more funding and staff – suggesting a long-term Covid impact on the health service’s performance, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said. The NHS carried out 14% fewer emergency admissions, 14% fewer outpatient appointments and 11% fewer elective and maternity admissions in the latest month of data than it did in the same period in 2019, according to the IFS.
The widely-respected think tank said a partial explanation could be that, although the total number of NHS hospital beds is at pre-pandemic levels, the number of beds available for non-Covid patients in the third quarter of this year was still lower than before the pandemic. With almost 3,000 patients in hospital mainly due to Covid-19 on an average day, there were 1% fewer beds available for other purposes.
The NHS is also struggling to discharge patients, with data suggesting that around 40% of people in hospital for more than 21 days were ready for discharge in the first week of December. There are "worrying signs" that Covid has dealt a lasting adverse hit to the performance of the health service, according to new IFS analysis on funding, resources and treatment volumes.
