Conclusion 15

NHSE&I noted that there is going to be a backlog of patients requiring treatment, for headline conditions as well as routine operations, at a time when more hospital beds and critical care facilities will be required on standby for a potential new peak of COVID-19 cases. NHSE&I recognised the importance of stepping up elective cases again as quickly as possible, given there is potential harm to delaying treatment.32 It told us that it is working with the medical Royal Colleges and others, to identify the services that need to be prioritised and restarted across the country.33 NHSE&I recognises that services cannot go back to the way they were delivered before due to the risk of the virus and that additional capacity will be required just to treat the same number of patients as before. However, neither the Department nor NHSE&I were able to confirm whether adequate resources would be made available for trusts to cope with these increased pressures. NHSE&I stressed however that this was more of a capacity issue in terms of what the NHS can do than a financial issue.34 26 Committee of Public Accounts, NHS financial sustainability: progress review, Ninety-First Report of Session 2017– 19, HC 1743, 3 April 2019; Committee of Public Accounts, NHS waiting times for elective and cancer treatment, One Hundredth Report of Session 2017–19, HC 1750, 12 June 2019 27 C&AG’s Report NHS financial management and sustainability, para 8 28 Q42 29 C&AG’s Report NHS financial management and sustainability, para 8 30 NHS England and NHS Improvement’s letter to senior figures in the NHS and local authorities: Next steps on the NHS response to COVID-19, 17 March 2020. 31 Qq 24–27 32 Q25 33 Q27 34 Qq 24, 25, 27–33 12 NHS capital expenditure and financial management 2 Investment for the future Capital