The TTE Week in Numbers (to May 10th)

The waiting list is shrinking………

916 

The number of people the NHS waiting list fell by between February and March - 7.53 million remain on the lists 

685 years

According to the Telegraph, if the current rate of progress continues, it will take a mind-boggling 685 years to clear the NHS backlog. Is anyone planning to be around to witness that day? Tom says he is.

£2,000

The BBC reports that an Agency is charging hospitals nearly £2,000 for specialist nurse shifts on bank holidays. Of that, the BBC calculates the nurse receives about £1,050 and the agency £850. As my late father said, there's always someone making a dollar.

100 days 

Has anyone yet noticed the merry-go-round of illnesses readily reported by the media? This time, the media delights in informing that sometimes it’s called the "100-day cough."

Whooping cough has made its way to the headlines, with more than 2,700 whooping cases reported across England in 2024.

Yet, despite the recent media furore,  Bordetella pertussis, the causative organism, has been described …