Welcome to this December issue of the Journal of Prescribing Practice.
As I write this and look out of my window at the snow, I can see winter is upon us and the NHS is bracing itself for the increased demand on its services at this time every year. This comes after a recent report stating that A&E and ambulance staff experienced record attendances this October, showing the highest figures for the month since records began in August 2010 (Sky News, 2024). The report also shows that A&E targets for treatment were down, emphasising the pressure this volume is placing on the service. The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England from a decision to admit to being admitted stood at 49 592 in October, up from 38 880 in September. It's not just our emergency services that are feeling the increase in patient numbers. A recent report found waiting times for gynaecology appointments across the UK have more than doubled in the last 4 years (BBC News, 2024a), and around three-quarters of a million women's health appointments are still waiting to happen, up from 360 400 just before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The students on my NMP programme tell me these figures and the pressure on the NHS is no exaggeration, with many areas experiencing increases in numbers of patients and referrals, putting pressure on staff and services across many areas and specialities. I am sure this is something that resonates with many of you, and that we all hope policy makers can help ease these pressures and commit to patient safety through service improvement. Indeed, health ministers say they are working on plans to improve the pressured situations and ease the backlogs and burdens. Yet, recent changes to National Insurance in the budget have general practices worrying that they may have to cut services or reduce staff to meet the increased costs. A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said ‘tough decisions’ were made to pay for the financial boost needed to support the NHS and social care (BBC News, 2024b). There is hope that further announcements will be made before these changes come into effect around allocation of funds to support primary care services.
This may seem like a dire picture and, yes, it does seem to be worse this year than before – but as human beings we are sometimes able to do amazing things even in the face of adversity, and I have seen this personally time and time again in the NHS. Every time I do, I hope it will cease to be as necessary as it seems at the moment. Resilience is something very many of us possess and, often, our commitment to our jobs and our patients is what drives us to keep going. Employing resilience-based approaches can help us with our wellbeing and the NHS Leadership Academy has some such resources free to access (https://learninghub.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk). I know I have found these helpful, along with reflection, relationships and peer support.
I do hope you all get some well deserved time to rest and recharge over the forthcoming holiday season, and I will write to you again in 2025.