Prof Frank Smith, of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said there had been too little progress on tackling long waits, with a target to eliminate those of over 65 weeks, by September, looking “very hard to achieve”.
“If the new government wants to show it is serious about meeting its pledge to cut waiting times, it must provide capital funding for NHS buildings and IT [information technology] in the autumn Budget, later this month,” he said.
“With reports of broken lifts and flooded corridors in hospitals leading to cancelled operations, and surgeons telling us access to operating theatres remains an issue, cutting waits will remain an uphill battle without this investment.”
Siva Anandaciva, of the King’s Fund health think tank, agreed the Budget would be a crucial moment.
The NHS was approaching winter in “bad shape”, he said, with one in four people waiting longer in A&E than the target time of four hours.
“It is nearly a decade since the target was met,” Mr Anandaciva said.
“The government has made its diagnosis that the NHS is broken – and now they must fix it.
“There have been reports the NHS will be put at the centre of the upcoming Budget – the proof will be in the pudding of how far the government are willing to go to support health and care services ahead of next year’s multi-year spending review.”
