RCP President: NHS creaking at the seams

Sir Richard Thompson, President of the Royal College of Physicians, commenting on today’s release of waiting list statistics from the Department of Health, said he was worried about the implications of the rise in the number of patients waiting for diagnosis and treatment:

‘The apparent rise in waiting lists is both worrying for patients and evidence of an underlying cause – the increasing pressures on the NHS in general. The NHS is now creaking at the seams, with the growing number of patients needing urgent care, including older people with multiple health problems. Our members are finding it difficult to cope with the increased demand for urgent care, and this has a knock-on effect on the ability of hospitals to cope with planned diagnostic tests, medical procedures and surgical operations. Waiting lists could be the first indication that the NHS is not coping with effects of this inexorable rise in demand.’

Linda Cuthbertson
PR Manager
Royal College of Physicians
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