Blog: Our NHS is in crisis – and it is a disaster of the government ’s own making

Only 18 months ago, this government was elected after promising to properly fund the NHS. Since then, ministers have repeated – time and again – that enough money is being provided for our health service. Whether you work in the NHS or not, we know that’s simply not true, and the cracks in the facade are beginning to show. Recently it was revealed that nine out of ten hospitals faced overcrowding this winter – a sure fire sign that government underfunding is beginning to impact on patient care. Waiting times are up. And there’s a widespread cash shortage forcing difficult decisions on staff around the country. Meanwhile the number of applicants for nursing courses has plummeted following the axing of the NHS bursary, storing up further long term problems and exacerbating an already worrying nursing shortage. The pressure on the NHS is greater still because social care – which has been cut in real terms by the government since 2010 – is creasking under the weight of an aging population and a shortage of resources. That has an impact on the NHS, with more elderly patients stuck on wards because they can’t be cared for elsewhere. And of course, there’s the pernicious and damaging pay cap that holds health workers wages down, damaging morale and recruitment at the same time. The word crisis is often overused, but for our National Health Service in 2017, it’s a perfectly reasonable description. This scenario was entirely foreseeable – it is a disaster of the ...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article NHS Source Type: news