Access to urgent and emergency care

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 18 May 2023 Closed: 14 Feb 2024 Parliament page
In March this year the Public Accounts Committee reported that the first year of the NHS’ three year plan to recover its services was already falling short . People who need urgent or unplanned medical care can seek NHS help from several different services depending on the nature and severity … Read more
2 Recommendations
29 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 6 events
14 Feb
2024
Report published
25 Oct
2023
Report published
11 Sep
2023
Correspondence
11 Sep
2023
Correspondence
3 Jul
2023
Oral evidence
3 Jul
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
3 Jul 2023
View on parliament.uk
Access to urgent and emergency care
Amanda Pritchard · NHS England Matthew Style · Department of Health and Social Care Professor Sir Stephen Powis · NHS England Sarah-Jane Marsh · NHS England Sir Chris Wormald · Department of Health and Social Care
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Seventy-Third Report - Access to urgent and emergency care HC 1336 25 Oct 2023 31 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
8 Conclusion Acknowledged
Seventy-Third Report - Access to u…
NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan assumes optimistic and unproven labour productivity increases.
A key element of NHS England’s plans for the NHS over the coming years is the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023.16 Despite the decline in productivity in recent years, NHS England’s projections for future staff requirements … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees (with what appears to be a conclusion) and states that improving productivity, including reducing staff absences and improving processes, is a key component of existing recovery plans. NHS England will provide further details on factors impacting productivity and future plans in a letter to the Committee.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged
Seventy-Third Report - Access to u…
NHS England finally published its long-term workforce plan in June 2023, addressing previous failures.
We have been raising concerns about the lack of long-term planning for the NHS workforce since well before the COVID-19 pandemic, noting in February 2023 that the Department had repeatedly failed to make good on its commitments to publish a … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's findings regarding workforce planning, confirming that NHS England's Long Term Workforce Plan, including a revised retention programme, is in motion to address challenges and reduce staff attrition rates by 2037.
HM Treasury
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24 Conclusion Acknowledged
Seventy-Third Report - Access to u…
NHS Long Term Workforce Plan addresses projected shortfall of up to 360,000 staff.
In the workforce plan, NHS England estimates that over a 15-year period, without action, there would be a shortfall of 260,000 to 360,000 staff by 2036–37. NHS England explained that, because it takes time to train people and that they … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's findings, noting NHS England has revised its retention programme and the Exemplar programme shows improved leaver rates, with the Long Term Workforce Plan aiming to significantly reduce overall staff attrition by 2037.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Acknowledged
Seventy-Third Report - Access to u…
NHS retention programme piloting flexibility and career development measures shows promising results.
NHS England added that, in terms of the specific offers that it would be making, the two most significant elements were measures focused on flexibility and continuous career development.67 It informed us that much of the retention aspects of the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's findings, stating NHS England has revised its retention programme and the Exemplar programme shows improved leaver rates, with the Long Term Workforce Plan aiming to significantly reduce overall staff attrition by 2037.
HM Treasury
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26 Conclusion Acknowledged
Seventy-Third Report - Access to u…
Elevated NHS staff absence rates persist post-pandemic, driven by musculoskeletal, respiratory, and mental health issues.
We asked about the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, since absence rates in the NHS workforce have remained higher since the start of the pandemic than the 61 Committee of Public Accounts, Sustainability and transformation in the NHS, Twenty-Ninth … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's observations, noting the NHS is making progress in recovering lost productivity and reducing staff absences, with the Long Term Workforce Plan improving processes, and NHS England will provide further details on productivity factors and plans to the committee.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 29 of 2 classified
Accepted 15
Acknowledged 5
Rejected 9
Total 2 recs + 29 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
11 Sep 2023 Correspondence from Matthew Style, Director General, NHS Policy and Performance, Department for Health, and Social Care, re Access to Urgent and Emergency Care, dated 17 July 2023
Parliament page
11 Sep 2023 Correspondence from Sarah Jane Marsh, National Director for integrated Urgent and Emergency Care Deputy Chief Operating Officer, NHS England, re access to urgent and unplanned care, dated 19 July 2023
Parliament page