Politics

NHS: What do the latest figures show about treatment waiting lists, hospital beds, and ambulance wait times?

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2024

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NHS England’s waiting list for elective treatment fell from 7.7m in October to 7.6m in November.

That’s the smallest it’s been since June, but still far larger than it was in November 2022 (7.2m).

Despite facing the most sustained industrial action in its history, the NHS has had a relatively good winter.

A mild flu season has helped keep demand for the health service relatively low, at least partially offsetting the impact of the strikes.

As of 7 January, just 2,271 beds were rendered unavailable due to seasonal winter illnesses.

That’s less than half the figure at this time last year (5,151).

As a result, hospitals have been unusually empty for this time of year, with an average of 93.5% of beds occupied in the first week of the year (compared to 94.7% at the same time last year).

With more capacity, hospitals have had more space to take on elective cases and cut waiting lists.

It has also reduced some of the pressures on A&E departments. Waiting times have fallen, though they still remain well above their pre-pandemic levels.

In December, 104,000 people waited more than four hours to be admitted to A&E after the decision had been made to admit them, or 27% of all admissions.

That’s down from a record 33% of admissions in 2022, but far higher than it was in 2018 (11%).

One in every 12 admissions this December (8%, or 44,000 people) were forced to wait over 12 hours. Such waits were almost unheard of before the pandemic, affecting just 284 patients in December 2018.

Similarly, ambulance response times are better than last year, but remain above target.

The average call-out for a heart attack or stroke took 46 minutes to arrive, down from 48 minutes in December 2022 but six minutes above target.

For 10% of calls, ambulances took an hour and 41 minutes.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the health charity, the King’s Fund, said the figures showed the NHS was still not meeting the majority of its most important performance targets this winter.

“On some measures, the situation is better than this time last year, in part thanks to efforts to increase capacity as well as relatively low hospital admissions from COVID-19 and flu, but patients are still not receiving an acceptable level of service,” she said.

“Behind each of these figures is a person who is struggling to receive the timely care they need and deserve, despite the best efforts of staff.”

Kate Seymour, head of advocacy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said that while the data showed a slight improvement on wait times, there were “still thousands of people in England facing agonising delays for vital cancer diagnosis and treatment”.

“Every day at Macmillan we hear how these unacceptable delays can cause needless anxiety and even result in a worse prognosis. People’s lives are being put at risk, and it’s simply not good enough,” she said.

Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said the figures showed the progress “our fantastic NHS staff can make towards bringing waiting lists down when they don’t have to contend with industrial action”.

“November was the first month without industrial action for over a year, and we reduced the total waiting list by more than 95,000 – the biggest decrease since December 2010, outside of the pandemic,” she said.

“We want to put an end to damaging strikes once and for all, and if the BMA Junior Doctors Committee can demonstrate they have reasonable expectations, I will still sit down with them.”

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, added: “Despite winter pressures, significant demand and over a year of regular industrial action, the sheer volume of care delivered by NHS staff for patients across the country is hugely impressive, with more people than ever before treated in November and the waiting list falling for the second month in a row.

“We have experienced the toughest possible start to 2024 with the longest set of strikes in our 75-year history, but we remain focused on doing all we can to make progress on the covid backlog that has inevitably built up over the pandemic.

“While we know we have a long way to go, caring for over 1.6 million people in a single month is such important progress and makes such a huge difference for those patients who have been waiting for an appointment or operation.”

Politics

SEC’s Crenshaw says agency playing ‘regulatory Jenga’ with crypto

Published

5 hours ago

May 20, 2025

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SEC’s Crenshaw says agency playing ‘regulatory Jenga’ with crypto

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s sole Democratic Commissioner has said the agency is “playing a game of regulatory Jenga” with its approach to the crypto industry and market regulation under the Trump administration.

In May 19 remarks at the SEC Speaks event, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw cautioned against what she described as a dangerous dismantling of “discrete but interrelated rules” on crypto and the wider market.

She likened market stability to a “Jenga tower” that the agency’s rules had “carefully developed over the years,” which could topple if some rules were removed.

In addition to a lamentable loss of staff, Crenshaw said the SEC has used staff guidance to effectively reverse rules without proper analysis or public comment, particularly around crypto

“Our statements on these crypto-related issues are the equivalent of a wink and nod intended to convey that we do not plan to rigorously apply our laws in certain, specific situations.”

She added that the regulator has abandoned enforcement actions, especially in crypto markets, creating what she calls “regulation by non-enforcement.”

“I am deeply troubled by the Commission’s abandonment of swaths of our enforcement program,” she said.

Crenshaw, the SEC’s last remaining Democrat commissioner, said the agency’s “about-face” is problematic for a host of reasons, such as corroding its reputation in court, undermining its credibility, and casting doubt on the state of “longstanding and fundamental case law.”

Crenshaw, who had also opposed the SEC’s settlement with Ripple, said in her latest remarks that the 2022 FTX collapse was an example of what a “large-scale crypto crisis” can look like.

“Those risks have not gone away, but the calls for serious regulatory scrutiny are a lot quieter these days,” she said.

“Failing to appreciate and address these risks and complexities destines us to repeat hard lessons with high stakes as crypto becomes increasingly entangled with traditional finance.”

In comparison, remarks from the SEC’s Republican commissioners welcomed the agency’s embrace of the crypto sector.

Crypto was “languishing in SEC limbo”

SEC chair Paul Atkins said at the SEC Speaks event that “crypto markets have been languishing in SEC limbo for years,” adding that the agency should not be in the business of stifling innovation of crypto companies.

Commissioner Hester Peirce, who heads the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, said in remarks that the agency’s approach under the Biden administration has “evaded sound regulatory practice and must be corrected.”

She also claimed that crypto did not come under the purview of securities laws because “most currently existing crypto assets in the market” are not securities.

“Even if a broad swath of the crypto assets trading in secondary markets today were initially offered and sold subject to an investment contract, they clearly are no longer bought and sold in securities transactions. Many of these crypto assets are functional.”

Commissioner Mark Uyeda echoed the sentiment of his peers, stating that the SEC “should undertake efforts to provide assurances that regulation by enforcement will not be a tool used for future policymaking.”

Magazine: Arthur Hayes $1M Bitcoin tip, altcoins ‘powerful rally’ looms: Hodler’s Digest

Politics

US Senate moves forward with GENIUS stablecoin bill

Published

7 hours ago

May 20, 2025

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US Senate moves forward with GENIUS stablecoin bill

The US Senate has voted to advance a key stablecoin-regulating bill after Democrat Senators blocked an attempt to move the bill forward earlier in May over concerns about President Donald Trump’s sprawling crypto empire.

A key procedural vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, passed in a 66-32 vote on May 20.

Several Democrats changed their votes to pass the motion to invoke cloture, which will now set the bill up for debate on the Senate floor.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the bill’s key backers, said on May 15 that she thinks it’s a “fair target” to have the GENIUS Act passed by May 26 — Memorial Day in the US.

Government, United States, Stablecoin — *The US Senate voted 66-32 to advance debate on the GENIUS stablecoin bill. Source:* *US Senate*

The GENIUS Act was introduced on Feb. 4 by US Senator Bill Hagerty and seeks to regulate the nearly $250 billion stablecoin market — currently dominated by Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC).

The bill requires stablecoins be fully backed, have regular security audits and approval from federal or state regulators. Only licensed entities can issue stablecoins, while algorithmic stablecoins are restricted.

Several Democratic senators withdrew support for the bill on May 8, blocking a motion to move it forward, citing concerns over potential conflicts of interest involving Trump’s crypto ventures and anti-money laundering provisions.

The bill was revised soon after to receive enough bipartisan support to proceed to a vote.

Hagerty’s stablecoin bill builds on the discussion draft he submitted for former Representative Patrick McHenry’s Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act in October.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Politics

DOJ is investigating Coinbase data breach— Report

Published

11 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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DOJ is investigating Coinbase data breach— Report

The US Department of Justice is reportedly conducting a probe over Coinbase’s contracted customer service agents in India, who accepted bribes in exchange for allowing criminals access to user data.

According to a May 19 Bloomberg report, DOJ investigators are looking into the data breach, which Coinbase disclosed to the public on May 15. The exchange reported that a group of customer support contractors — subsequently fired — “abused their access to […] systems to steal the account data for a small subset of customers.”

“We have notified and are working with the DOJ and other US and international law enforcement agencies and welcome law enforcement’s pursuit of criminal charges against these bad actors,” said Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, according to Bloomberg.

Though “no passwords, private keys, or funds were exposed” according to Coinbase, the data breach resulted in social engineering attacks targeting users, including a Sequoia Capital partner, with losses estimated at up to $400 million. The attackers also attempted to extort $20 million from Coinbase in exchange for not disclosing the breach, which the company refused.

Backlash in the courts

The attempted social engineering attacks have resulted in Coinbase users filing several lawsuits against the exchange, alleging that the company mishandled their personal data. One user, a retired artist named Ed Suman, reported losing $2 million to the scammers.

Coinbase’s stock price fluctuated following the news of the breach and an unrelated probe from the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its reported “verified user” numbers. Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.