NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis said: “Omicron means more patients to treat and fewer staff to treat them. In fact, around 10,000 more colleagues across the NHS were absent each day last week compared with the previous seven days and almost half of all absences are now down to COVID. “While we don’t […]

NHS staff answered the highest number of 999 calls for any November on record, an average of around one every three seconds, new figures revealed today. Last month was also the second busiest November on record for A&E with more than two million patients seen at emergency departments and urgent treatment centres. That was up […]

NHS 999 services had their busiest ever month in October as staff answered a record 1,012,143 calls, new figures have revealed today. Ambulance staff responded to more than 82,000 life threatening call-outs, an increase of more than 20,000 on the previous high for October in 2019 (61,561), as well as dealing with the surge in […]

NHS staff are continuing to increase the amount of non-urgent care provided to patients, despite experiencing the busiest September on record, new figures show today. Major A&Es treated over 1.39 million people during September – the highest ever for the month and all while staff cared for thousands of COVID patients. The new figures, published […]

Leading clinicians from across the health service have been appointed to new national clinical roles to help lead action on post-COVID challenges facing patients and staff. The five new clinical leads – covering urgent and emergency care, elective care and long COVID – will provide expert advice to the NHS Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis, […]

NHS staff have delivered millions more tests and treatments this summer while hospitals cared for thousands more patients with COVID, according to new figures released today. There were 3.9 million diagnostic tests and 2.6 million patients started consultant-led treatment over June and July, compared with 2.7 million tests and 1.6 million treatments over the same […]

Ambulance trusts in England will be given an extra £55 million to boost staff numbers ahead of winter, the NHS announced today. The funding will help the services to recruit more 999 call handlers, crews and clinicians to work in control rooms. It will also cover the recruitment and retention of liaison officers who manage […]

Thousands of ambulance crews across the country will be provided with body cameras as part of an NHS crackdown to reduce attacks on staff. The introduction of the cameras comes alongside data that 3,569 ambulance staff were physically assaulted by the public last year – 30% more than five years ago. Following successful trials in […]

Patients, clinicians and the public have welcomed proposals for a comprehensive set of indicators for urgent care. The updated standards aim to capture what matters clinically to patients, end hidden waits and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. The proposed bundle of 10 measures takes account of changes in the way that urgent and emergency […]

Tens of thousands of iPads will be issued to ambulance crews across England so that patients get the right care faster, NHS Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens announced today. The 30,000 devices will allow ambulance crews to send photographs from the scene of an accident so stroke specialists and other clinicians on standby in emergency […]