Frustration over delay in publication of NHS recovery plan

The Government had been expected to publish a report on plans to cope with the recovery from the impact of Covid in December, but it has been postponed.

There were suggestions the plan had been delayed because the Treasury has refused to sign off on it – but Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the delay was down to the disruption caused by the Omicron variant.

Mr Javid said: "We will publish the plan shortly. What I would say about the Treasury is that I couldn't wish for a better partner when it comes to the challenges I have. I don't recognise that [suggestion] at all.

"Having been chancellor, having a close relationship with the Treasury, having a strong partnership for any department is crucial and right now for health and care I am just really pleased we have got that really good working relationship."

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, has called for a plan to deal with the NHS backlog in England to be published "as quickly as possible".

She said: "We need to see this plan as quickly as possible because trust leaders are really keen to plough on and make their way through these very long waiting lists which have built up during the pandemic, and indeed pre-existed the pandemic.

"What we're waiting for is a set of priorities and measures and procedures that will be put in place to support trusts, to enable them to boost their activity levels, so it will be measures to free up clinician times, it will be measures to support trusts to work more effectively together.

"Critically, it will be measures to help to keep patients well while they wait for their procedures and also be how, perhaps, the independent sector might be used and really importantly, it will be how that £8 billion worth of funding will be allocated, so there is a lot of detail still to see."

North Shropshire Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan echoed the view, saying: “It is beyond disappointing to see the Government sit on their hands and fail to publish this much-needed plan because of internal Conservative Party fighting.

“Patients across Shropshire are being left to suffer because the government can't seem to get its ducks in a row.

“Residents have played their part in protecting the NHS and now they deserve better.

“At the very least the Government should start the process to help the thousands of people left stranded on huge waiting lists."

It come as Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was caring for 68 coronavirus patients in hospital as of Tuesday last week.

NHS England data shows the number of people being treated in hospital for Covid-19 by 8am on February 1 was down from 72 on the same day the previous week.

The number of beds at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust occupied by people who tested positive for Covid-19 increased by 23 in the last four weeks – 28 days ago, there were 45.

Across England there were 12,896 people in hospital with Covid as of February 1, with 449 of them in mechanical ventilation beds.

The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised nationally decreased by 14 per cent in the last four weeks, as has the number on mechanical ventilators, which has decreased by 44 per cent.

The figures also show that 76 new Covid patients were admitted to hospital at the trust in the week to January 30.

This was up from 68 in the previous seven days.