More or Less: Behind the Stats Life expectancy, inheritance tax and the NHS vs winter
Jan 17, 2024
Paul Lewis, economist and financial journalist, discusses the low percentage of people who pay inheritance tax. The podcast also explores the impact of COVID-19 and flu on the NHS, analyzes the decline in UK life expectancy, and investigates the feral cat population in Australia.
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NHS Struggles With Winter Pressures
- NHS England faced severe pressures last winter due to a double wave of COVID and flu infections.
- Although this winter shows some improvement, A&E waits and ambulance response times remain critically high.
Rise in Long A&E Waits
- Trolley waits over 12 hours soared from four in 2011 to 44,000 in December 2023.
- These waits correlate with thousands of excess deaths from delayed A&E treatment.
Ambulance Response Times Critical
- Ambulance response targets are missed drastically, with category 1 calls averaging 11 minutes vs. 7-minute target.
- Category 2 emergencies often wait over 40 minutes instead of the 18-minute target.