Former health secretary Stephen Dorrell was joined by two leading commentators to look at how the NHS can recover after covid in an HSJ webinar.
Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, and Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, examined the mountain the NHS has to climb in terms of recovering elective work while also delivering for emergency patients.
Before the pandemic hit in March last year, the NHS was already failing to keep up with the volume of elective referrals, with rising waiting lists. That has been compounded by the covid crisis, and the cancellation of much elective work over the last few weeks.
The NHS will largely have to tackle this backlog – and deal with both elective referrals and emergency attendances – with the resources it currently has. Making the best use of existing staff and facilities – and driving up productivity – will be key.
HSJ deputy editor Dave West chaired the discussion, which was run in association with Four Eyes Insight – which Mr Dorrell chairs – and Prism Improvement. Viewers were able to ask questions of the panel during the event.
This webinar was broadcast live on Wednesday 24 February at 10.30am. The free webinar can now be watched here.
