The effects of the pandemic are still with the NHS. It’s one reason why so many people are dying on the waiting list — which now stands at 6.4 million, the biggest number ever. But what should particularly concern us is that about 323,000 were waiting over a year for treatment. Inevitably, some die. In fact, 117,000 people did so last year before they could be treated, double the number four years ago in 2017-2018. The sad reality is that many people, as a result, reached the end of their lives in pain and discomfort.
The figures were provided by Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, who asked all NHS trusts for figures. A total of 67 out of 224 trusts replied and these figures were extrapolated to apply to the country as a whole. Mr Streeting deserves credit for bringing this grim situation to public attention.
His prescriptions for reform are sensible. He wants the new system of social care to spend more on transferring fit, elderly patients from hospital to avoid the delayed transfers which mean that older people are kept in hospital unnecessarily. That way, beds can be freed for patients requiring treatment.
He wants to prevent doctors retiring simply to protect their pensions from financial penalties if they remain in work. In fact, this is a problem that affects other professions besides doctors, but the consequences of experienced medics retiring early is especially damaging.
And he is calling for the 800 medical graduates who are without jobs to be found posts, though it can be difficult to persuade graduates to take work in socially deprived areas — including parts of London.
Granted the Government is trying to train greater numbers of medics — and to retain those who do qualify — but it takes time for them to complete their training. Meanwhile, it makes sense to continue with the existing policy whereby some people on the waiting lists are treated in private hospitals at NHS expense. This may be an expensive option but without it, more people would die waiting. And that is, or should be, unacceptable.
The butter index
There are any number of indicators of the cost of living crisis but one is the Lurpak index, which has now reached over £7 for 750g of butter, having already exceeded £5 for 500g. To put it another way, Danish butter is a fiver a pound. Other butters, including British ones, are available but it is a sobering reminder of the extent to which staples of our diet are turning into luxuries for many families.
Butter rationing in the war was understandable; inflation-rationing is a grimmer matter. Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has warned that pressure on household budgets will only increase over the year. Like other supermarkets, it is spending money on containing price rises. Then there’s the soaring cost of fuel. It’s a reminder, if the Government needed it, that helping people make ends meet is the overriding priority now.
Egyptian love cure
One of the prize exhibits at the British Museum’s exhibition on Egyptian hieroglyphs in October is a bathtub from 600BC reputed to wash away the pains of love. If only visitors could bathe in it as well as look at it. But there must surely be a ready market for full-size replicas.
