The NHS has been fighting a losing battle for some time, with a ‘hidden backlog’ of patients waiting to be seen. It’s therefore unsurprising to see patient satisfaction levels drop to an all-time low, with the system currently failing to provide patients with a direct route to care, at speed. According to the 2021 British Social Attitudes survey, there has been a dramatic drop of satisfaction in the NHS by 17% in the last year, leaving it at the lowest level since 1997. That’s 25 years. These issues have been exacerbated by the unexpected events of the past two years but have been long in the making. To put it simply, a decade-long funding squeeze and a workforce crisis has been left unaddressed for far too long. 

We’re still seeing fluctuating waves of cases that are disrupting healthcare providers in terms of both staffing absences and protocols around treating patients (both COVID patients and incidental COVID admissions). All of this, of course, hampers attempts to deal with an enormous backlog of appointments and procedures that have swelled over the past two years. For example, as of January 2022, more than six million people were waiting for NHS treatment.  

 Resurrecting patient satisfaction with the NHS 

 It is no secret that NHS staff are working tirelessly to care for their patients - so where is the system failing us? 

 This situation reflected in the statistics tells a story of missed opportunities when it comes to efficiently directing people to the clinicians they need to see.  
Our latest data tells us that nearly half of UK adults who visited the emergency room in the last 12 months did not require urgent A&E treatment. In fact, upon seeing a medical professional, 24% were told to visit another health professional, just over half of which were sent to their GP with the rest being sent to see a pharmacist.  It is therefore clear to see where precious time is being lost.  

 Looking beyond NHS staffing issues 

All too often we hear calls for onboarding more staff as some kind of silver bullet solution to the problem. While, of course, we need to address staffing shortfalls, the reality is that an over-stretched workforce is not about to be rescued by magically recruiting more doctors and nurses, which in itself can take a long time, and isn’t always feasible.  

 Cutting down on time lost in the system would make a more tangible difference. By investing in triaging the needs of patients at the beginning of their healthcare journeys into general practice, A&E or outpatients, we can get patients to the right clinician, at the right time, first time and every time.  

This will create a digital ecosystem for patients, improving patient outcomes and driving efficiency throughout the system by making optimal use of the resources we have available today.  

To achieve this and take a real stride towards solving the current crisis, the NHS is in desperate need of a systematic overhaul, as the pandemic has clearly highlighted the healthcare system’s flawed infrastructure of insufficient and disconnected triage.  

 We need to improve the patient experience by joining the doors of the healthcare system and ensuring patients know where to go to receive the right care. The technology and knowhow already exist – the time has come to put it into more widespread use.    

Dr Murray Ellender, practising GP and CEO of eConsult