Improving our NHS

Who will do something about the following?

• Nurses
  • One in four NHS wards routinely operate with staffing levels that threaten patient safety
  • Health care assistants are being used to shore up staffing numbers on NHS wards.
  • For every 25 patients, substituting one qualified nurse for a lower qualified member of staff was associated with a 21% increase in the risk of dying prematurely.

• Cancer Survival Rates: % patients surviving 5 years:
  • Colon:                   UK 60%; Australia 71%
  • Lung:                     UK 14.7%; Canada 21.7%
  • Rectal:                  UK 62%; Australia 71%
  • Pancreatic:          UK 7.9%; Australia 14.6%
  • Stomach:             UK 18%; Australia 30%; Canada 27%; Ireland 25%;
  • Ovarian:               UK 38%; Sweden 42%

• Cancer Waiting Times:
  • Patients with an urgent referral letter by their GP are meant to start treatment within 62 days.
  • July 2019: 78% did that – target is 85%. Target last hit in December 2015. In last 12 months 28k waited longer than 2 months and 11k waited over 3 months

• Waiting list for routine operations:
  • Currently 4.1m; the highest since 2007