The NHS crisis cannot wait, measures are needed

In the United Kingdom, National Health Service (NHS) officials have warned of difficult operating conditions. At the same time, they stressed that they would need drastic measures to survive. As described in BMJ, SIt has reached a critical point as a result of staff shortages, inadequate resources and the health requirements of a rapidly aging population.

The NHS is potentially going through one of its worst crises in recent times. Levels of care fall below what is acceptable for doctors and citizens, which means creating short-term plans to cope with difficulties, communicating possibilities and real needs of users. “Now we see what the crisis really means, with delays and treatment failures, and unacceptable care and working conditions.” Experts say.

Emergency doctors have questioned the capabilities of the NHS. On the night of January 30, they confirmed that the government's plan, which was supposedly designed and implemented to relieve pressure in emergency areas, had had no relevant impact on their work. It should be noted that under the strategy, 5,000 hospital beds were installed, which is a factor that is irrelevant to population and has little impact on human health talent.

“Initiatives such as the expansion of home hospitals and virtual wards will take years to fully implement, as they remain experimental and will have minimal impact in the coming months,” said the professionals who issued the alert.

Key barriers to the UK health system – (and what the NHS should reassess)

From the perspective of human talent in health, the UK continues to advocate a global health policy, when in practice it is far from achieving it. Some of the most important barriers – described in BMJ– We are:

• Constraints on funding and resource allocation for the NHS: This factor affects the scope of services, the availability and quality of care, and the consistency with which services can be provided. With personalized medicine, it is becoming increasingly expensive to provide all health opportunities and make them accessible to users.
• Lack of human talent in the field of health: The global situation is no stranger to the NHS, as there is a shortage of healthcare professionals around the world. Adequate staffing is essential to provide comprehensive care, address population needs, address health inequalities, and meet demand.
• Fragmentation in the provision of health services: Fragmentation of services is increasingly evident. Integration and coordination of care across primary, secondary and specialist care services is often lacking, resulting in a disjointed patient experience.

NHS: unprecedented delay in cancer care

According to statistics published in the British Medical Journal, more than 200,000 people diagnosed with cancer have been waiting for chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery since 2020, although the maximum specified time periods should not exceed 62 days. According to the information, of this total, 101,307 suffer from breast cancer; 68,611 colon cancer and 40,053 lung cancer.

A significant increase has been observed in the number of cancer patients waiting more than two months, rising from 37,243 in 2020 to 69,100 in the first 11 months of last year, despite the increase in referrals.

In this regard, research conducted by Radiotherapy UK and the Cancer Catch-up campaign revealed that in January 2020, 77% of breast cancer patients started their treatment on time, but the remaining 23% (1 in 4 people with this diagnosis) It didn't work. Meanwhile, 53% of colon cancer patients and 41% of those with lung cancer experienced delays beyond the two-month target in receiving chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery.