Recovery: building back better

Recovery means different things to different people—there is personal recovery and organisational recovery. The NHS is embarking on a decade (at least) of reform and continues to face unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, the worst public health emergency the country has experienced for over 100 years, resulted in around 7 million patients in England alone who did not come forward for treatment (Cabinet Office et al, 2022). Provision has to be made to administer that treatment, free at the point of need.

The NHS Confederation (2021) has produced a manifesto for recovery. This details how the health and care sector can address the challenges and sustain the beneficial changes that have been brought about by the pandemic. For many outside the sector the pandemic has shone a light on the ongoing chronic problems in our health and social care system, even as it added to those problems. For example, when COVID-19 emerged, there were already thousands of registered nurse vacancies. However, nurses were already acutely aware of what these deficiencies are and what challenges they pose.