King’s Fund survey: scale of NHS admin problem is “shocking”

Responding to polling from The King’s Fund, in collaboration with Healthwatch England and National Voices, which showed that 1 in 5 (20%) people who had used NHS services in last 12 months had received an invitation to an appointment by letter or text after the date of the appointment, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

“The scale of this problem is shocking. Patients should not have to struggle to receive basic information crucial to ensuring their health and wellbeing.

“This is not a problem without consequence. It puts patients off going for vital check-ups just to avoid going through this torrid ordeal all over again.  

“The Conservative Party’s beyond shameful neglect has pushed our NHS to the brink, but the Labour government’s failure to step up and address this crisis properly is inexcusable.

“It cannot be right that patients are being condemned to suffer whilst the NHS struggles with basic paperwork. The government must investigate the scale of these admin failures and urgently improve practices to ensure patients are receiving the quality of care they deserve.”

ENDS