Rishi Sunak has admitted his key pledge to bring down NHS waiting lists is in doubt after latest figures show a record 7.68m people are waiting for routine hospital treatment.

Jane Merrick inews.co.uk 

The Prime Minister said it was “very hard” to meet his targets due to strikes by NHS staff including junior doctors and consultants.

In January, Mr Sunak pledged to bring down waiting lists before the next election as one of five key promises of his premiership.

Since that target was set, the number of people on the list has risen every month. The 7.68m figure relates to people waiting for a routine operation in July, and is set to climb even higher.

Mr Sunak told the BBC: “Well obviously that is challenging with industrial action. There’s no two ways about it.

“We were making very good progress before industrial action.”

Asked whether it was possible he would miss the waiting list target, the Prime Minister said: “Well with industrial action it’s very hard to continue to meet these targets, but what I would say is we are making very good progress despite industrial action.”

However, NHS waiting lists were already high in England before strikes by NHS workers began around a year ago, mainly due to the backlog caused by the Covid pandemic.

Industrial action by nurses and ambulance workers was resolved earlier this year but junior doctors and consultants are still staging walkouts over pay.

Professor Philip Banfield, chair of the British Medical Association, urged the Health Secretary Steve Barclay to return to the negotiating table to bring an end to the strikes.

He said: “It’s obvious the Health Secretary has no plan at all to put an end to strikes. He appears to be ‘hoping that doctors will give up’.

“This is simply not going to happen. Doctors have worked tirelessly to do what they can with rising waiting lists for over a decade, due to chronic underfunding, then saved lives through a pandemic in horrendous and often brutal conditions.

“You cannot run down the health service over 10 years, devalue the expertise of doctors and expect our resolve to stand up for patients to dissipate magically.”

Owl understands he was helicoptered in and out for a fleeting visit to a vulnerable seat,  indeed a fleeting visit to an electorally vulnerable region.

Many questions but do we have any answers? – Owl

The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has been talking about healthcare, housing and believes the region’s voters will back him in the next election. Mr Sunak met with North Devon MP Selaine Saxby on Thursday, September 14 at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, where he met with staff and patients.

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com

He toured the hospital’s new £2million discharge lounge and Coronation Suite which was built as part of an initiative to support hospital discharge procedures.

He also spent ten minutes talking with DevonLive reporter Lewis Clarke, who asked him about healthcare, as well as wider issues surrounding the region.

He started the interview saying: “I love North Devon, I came to see Selaine up in Ilfracombe at the Landmark Theatre, which was on the sea, and absolutely stunning, so this is my second time in the area. I was Chancellor then, so this is my first time as Prime Minister , and it was breathtakingly beautiful.”

He was asked about plans for a new accommodation facility at the hospital, and whether he was confident this would be delivered soon.

He said: “Yes I am. I think it’s a great sign of the Govnerment’s commitment to the area, but also this incredible hospital.

“Healthcare in rural areas is something that requires particular care and attention. Selaine has rightly championed that and her and I have spoken in debate on this issue when I was between jobs last year. That’s why building accommodation on site is so important to provide the healthcare that people here need, and that their clinical staff have somewhere to stay. The hospital here is part of our 40 hospital programme and is an exciting sign of our commitment to the area and particularly healthcare.

“It comes on the back of investments we’ve already made here. I have been walking around here today and seen two things the government has done in the last year in the new ward doing elective orthopaedic surgery, brilliantly protecting that, so it’s separate to whatever is happening in the rest of the hospital, so they’re able to crack through people’s orthopaedic surgery and hip replacements, which is already making a huge difference to people thanks to Government funding last year that allowed that new ward to open.

“I’ve also seen the discharge lounge which just opened a couple of months ago; again, brand new, Government investment gone in. It’s a discharge lounge which means people will be able to go in, get home quicker from hospital, which is good for them, but also good for the hospital because it frees up beds so that it means A&E performance, emergency performance and the rest of the hospital will continue to be strong.

“That is already committing and delivering for the people of North Devon when it comes to healthcare.”

Following a petition launched by Ms Saxby calling on the House of Commons to ask the Government to assist with emergency dental provision in North Devon., the Prime Minister was told that people were visiting hospitals because they were unable to see their own dentist.

He was asked whether the Catch Up Dental Plan would be released by the Treasury soon.

The Prime Minister said: “This was the first letter Selaine wrote as an MP so she has been talking about this issue, rightly and passionately, from the day she became an MP.

“I’m aware, and Government is aware about the challenges of dentistry in rural areas. What I can tell you, is that we’re investing record sums nationally in dentistry; £3bn. Overall the amount of dental activity in the last year has gone up over 20% thanks to the reforms that we have made to the dentistry contract and the extra funding, but I get there are particular challenges in rural areas and we’re always going to keep looking at ways to improve people’s accessibility for dentistry.

“One thing we are doing, which is important for people to know, is that we’re investing now to train the dentists of the future. Earlier this year I announced a long-term workforce plan, which we are putting the money now in increasing the number of training places for dentists by around 50% and nobody has ever done anything like that before. That’s not going to help today, but it should give people the comfort that we’re making the right decisions for the long term, so that in the long term, North Devon will have the dentists it needs because I made a decision this year to start training more of them.”

The Prime Minister was then asked about the housing crisis facing the region, with a Devon Task Force recently announcing ‘broken housing markets’ across the county, with a lack of long-term rental properties.

He was asked whether there would be anything in the Autumn Statement to address the inequalities over short term and long term rental.

The Prime Minister replied saying: “First thing to say is that I live in a very rural area, up in North Yorkshire, which is also popular with people who like to come and stay there. I think many of the challenges you face here are ones I’m familiar with personally and indeed something Selaine and I have been talking about since the day she became an MP and I was Chancellor about how best we can address this issue.

“We have taken some steps already. We’re making it possible for councils to charge double council tax on second homes. That is something people have asked for which we are delivering. We are also working through plans which again Selaine has rightly championed about a registration scheme for short-term lets, because that would give councils more control over what’s happening in their areas.

“We have strengthened the local planning process because that allows councils, in their local plan, to designate housing and areas which are for local occupancy.

“It’s hard for me to comment, and I never do about things which may or may not be in the Autumn Statement, but I would say that thanks to the efforts of MPs like Selaine, representing an area that has these types of challenges, the Government is aware of the particular issues, so we can say we have looked and put a series of things in place to help mitigate it.”

Another key issue in the South West, which was pertinent in the Conservative’s loss in the Tiverton & Honiton by election was Tiverton High School.

At the Exeter hustings in 2022, Mr Sunak vowed to get a new school built for the town and he was asked when this may happen.

He responded saying: “My understanding is that Tiverton High School is part of our flagship school rebuilding programme that we have and Tiverton High School has been greenlighted as part of that programme. We are completely committed to it.

“The programme in totality is delivering at the pace that we expected and I don’t have any reason to believe that Tiverton is not progressing as planned through that process. We remain committed to Tiverton High School, it’s part of our flagship school rebuilding programme.”

He was also asked, that following that historic defeat to the Liberal Democrats, and also more recently in the Somerton & Frome by-election as well as gains for the Lib Dems in May’s local elections, why voters should stick with the Conservatives in next year’s expected General Election, and how he planned to win back their trust.

He responded saying: “My job is to delivery on people’s priorities, and my priority is the cost of living and easing the burden on it. We are on track to halve inflation which is the first of my priorities because that is the most important thing we can do to ease the strain on family budgets.

“We are also making progress in other areas like cutting waiting lists and improving NHS performance and this hospital that I’m standing in is a prime example of that.

“I know people want to see more action on tackling illegal migration, this is a difficult issue which can’t be solved overnight. For the first time ever since the small boats crisis emerged, the number’s this year are down on the year before, which shows our plan is working. There is more work to do, but that should give people some comfort.

“The other thing Selaine and I talk about is our commitment to the natural environment and Selaine has done a superb job on making sure that we’ve got an incredibly robust plan to improve our natural environment, particularly our plan for water, which has three parts. It’s about more investment; the water companies are investing £56bn over the coming years, with £2bn happening immediately.

“Also, the Government investing in things like slurry infrastructure grants for farmers to help them improve what they’re doing.

“The second bit is regulation, where we are banning things plastic wet wipes and forever chemicals.

“The last bit is enforcement where we’ve given Ofwat unlimited power for unlimited fines for water companies, and we’ve seen record fines on water companies for the unacceptable behaviour, but also strengthening their power so that water companies can’t pay dividends or bonuses if their environmental performance is not sufficient. We’re also giving more money to the Environment Agency to do inspections.

“So, with more investment, good regulation, and good regulation, and better enforcement, we’ve got a strong plan which will tackle the issue which I know people are concerned about.

“This is partly about what I’m delivering nationally, but we’ve got fantastic local MPs here like Selaine who are doing an incredibly good job for their constituents, and I think people will recognise and reward that.”

Following the visit Selaine Saxby MP said: “It was fantastic to welcome the Prime Minister to North Devon, and the district hospital here has done an incredible job. It was a real pleasure to show him the discharge lounge, a Government initiative using Government funding which is delivering real improvements to the flow of patients through this hospital, and it was a real pleasure to hear from staff who are running these facilities how the discharge facility but also the Jubilee Suite, how well these facilities are working, and the great patient care that they deliver.

“It’s always a real privilege to be able to welcome the Prime Minister. For him to come to the hospital, which is going to be rebuilt, but also we’re going to be working on the housing which is needed for key workers at the hospital.

“It was also good for him to see the fantastic team here, because this hospital is built on an incredible team of staff, and thankyou to all of them. I think he will get the enthusiasm of the staff and patients alike.

She spoke about what she hopes Mr Sunak will take with him from the meeting. She said: “I think some of the figures we gave him about discharge in a rural area and some of the challenges we have in social care up here. The team here at the hospital are doing a fantastic job, we just need to join it up well, which is obviously much harder in a rural community.

“He’s from a rural constituency himself so much of that resonated. I did do a debate with the Prime Minister in Westminster when I described him as being in between jobs on both of our rural hospitals, so I think there is a real understanding on that. I think the numbers he took with him today were quite stark and I very much hope he will work with the hospital trust here on some of the exciting initiatives they have.

“The other one, is the wearable technology. The chief medical officer explained the wearable technology that we’re championing here, which makes a real difference in enabling people to go home and be properly monitored. That’s a great and exciting initiative that perhaps people are not fully aware of and is already happening in North Devon.”

On being questioned why the Prime Minister made a visit, and if it was because the Conservatives were worried about losing the constituency to the challenging Liberal Democrats, Ms Saxby responded: “I think today was all about a big healthcare announcement and getting ready for winter, and therefore he’s come to a fantastic hospital to make that announcement.”

One of the biggest coastal climate adaptation and habitat creation projects in England moves a step closer to final completion with the installation of a new 70-metre footbridge.

Chris Collman www.eastdevon.radio

The Lower Otter Restoration Project (LORP) is a partnership initiative between landowners Clinton Devon Estates and the Environment Agency to restore the historic floodplain of the Otter estuary near Budleigh Salterton, East Devon. The Environment Agency managed the development of the scheme, appointing engineering consultant Jacobs to lead the design of the project and contractor Kier to undertake the construction works. Once construction is complete, the 55 hectare site will be managed by the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust.

Over the last week, a new 70-metre footbridge has been craned into place. Work will now commence to remove 70 metres of embankment, which will allow tides to reach a large part of the Otter estuary for the first time in over 200 years.

Installation of the bridge secures continued access along the South West Coast Path following the connection of the historic floodplain to the Otter estuary (please note the South West Coast path will remain temporarily diverted until the end of October to enable completion of works). This work was initially planned for earlier in the year but was postponed to allow breeding birds (who were flocking to make use of the new habitat) to finish nesting in the area that will flood tidally.

The project has already made a positive difference to the local community. During heavy rain in May, South Farm Road, once notorious for flooding, but which has been raised by the scheme, stayed free of the rising water, allowing local businesses to continue trading and residents to move freely. Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club, whose ground in the past was frequently subject to serious flooding, have been playing this season on a new flood-free pitches created as a result of the project, while a new pavilion for the club is nearing completion.

Dr Sam Bridgewater, Director of Environment Strategy and Evidence at Clinton Devon Estates said: “After more than a decade of planning and hard work, it is fantastic to see the project nearing completion. The benefits for people and the planet are already clear to see. It’s really encouraging that a wide variety of bird species have been visiting the site during the construction phase and we look forward to seeing further wildlife gains as the landscape and habitats develop once the lower valley again becomes tidal as it was two hundred years ago.”

Environment Agency Project Manager Dan Boswell reflected: “Undertaking landscape change of this scale is a huge challenge in terms of engineering, the environment and communication. The efforts of the team to rise to these challenges and deliver a fantastic legacy for the local community as well as improving the environment are to be commended. We are already seeing the positive impact for people and wildlife and that will only increase with time.”

Ecologists working on LORP are confident that habitats developing in the newly restored intertidal zone will increase biodiversity. Mud colonised by invertebrates will provide rich feeding grounds for wading birds like black-tailed godwits, dunlin and redshank, while the warm, shallow waters will also be used by many fish, particularly juveniles. Inter-tidal habitats are also well known for being able to store large amounts of carbon, helping to combat the climate crisis.

Members of the public can already enjoy the improvements and the wildlife they have attracted through 3.3km of improved footpath network that is more resilient to flooding as sea levels rise. Seven new viewing areas have also been constructed to enable visitors to enjoy and learn about the new wildlife have also been built with orientation signs, including a map and information on how to help care for the site.

In addition, unsightly overhead power lines that once ran through the site have been buried on both sides of the Otter valley, putting 2.5km of cables below ground. The work was undertaken in partnership with National Grid and the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.