The NHS becoming a ‘maze’ for patients shows it has lost touch with its founding principles - Ismail Mulla

We’re at risk of ending up with a National Health Service that exists for the sake of existing rather than its primary purpose, which is to provide universal coverage for everyone, free at the point of delivery services and care based on clinical need rather than ability to pay.

Universal coverage cannot be guaranteed if people are left facing a labyrinthine headache.

The Royal College of GPs and the Patients Association has called on the Government to make the NHS “simpler to access” for patients. A new report from the health organisations says that the NHS is a “complex web of organisations” which can make it difficult for patients to get the care that they need.

Patients feel rushed in appointments, face long waits, lost referrals and “unmanageable administerial burdens”, the report adds.

Imagine being an elderly person with a range of medical conditions that need to be addressed. Instead of being met with clear, decisive treatment, they are left trying to unpick the tangled mess that has become the NHS. That is simply not acceptable.

The NHS is becoming more and more remote from the patients it’s there to serve. I’ve had my own experience with this. Recently I needed to be seen by the GP after feeling unwell. Instead of even getting an appointment, the secretary took a note down and passed it onto the doctor. I got a terse text message from the doctor saying what he suspected it was. A few weeks later I was back at the surgery door asking for another appointment because the problem had not been resolved.

I’m a fairly young person so I’m able to get around technology but elderly people simply do not have the know-how or confidence. Often they want to be seen face-to-face so that they know there’s someone who empathises with them.

Delays and confusion can only add to the anxiety that many at a vulnerable time are feeling.

The report also calls for more GPs to overcome the challenges some patients face in accessing their family doctor.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “Patients have told us clearly what they need: appointments when they need them, enough time to explain what’s wrong, and for those with complex conditions, not having to repeat their entire history every visit.

“They want to be able to track their referrals instead of being left in the dark. They want access to information about their own care.

“They want to be equal partners in designing the services they rely on – not recipients of systems designed around organisational need.”

That is in itself telling. That the NHS is becoming an organisation that exists for the sake of existing. People will remember the burden shifting from the NHS to would-be patients during the pandemic. All in the name of protecting the NHS. But that was an unprecedented time and it’s not feasible to expect patients to continue to bear that burden.

It’s not just patients that are facing a “maze of dead ends and detours” in the NHS, “GPs are often struggling with the same challenges” says the report.

There are currently 6.17 million patients on the NHS waiting list for specialist care. And the College and the Patients Association has launched a new campaign calling for the NHS to be “truly accessible and navigable for all”. While that is to be welcomed, the fact that it even needs saying suggests a much deeper issue for the NHS.

The answer cannot be to throw more money at the health service every time flaws need fixing. Efficiencies need to be found within the NHS.

To be fair to the current Government, it has at least recognised that issues in the NHS cannot continue to go unaddressed and has begun to address problems such as the 8am scramble but time is running out.

The Government needs to find the brakes on the runaway train and get it under control before it can be returned to the right track - which is serving the needs of patients. It’s time to remind ourselves of the founding principles of the NHS.