Diversion tactics won’t fix a system at breaking point

It’s time our politicians stopped trying to shift the blame and made better spending choices regarding the NHS, writes Graham Scott

Winter is always a challenge for the NHS, with the bad weather arriving just as hospitals and community service providers are running out of money at the end of the financial year.

The annual effect is a perfect storm that sees ambulances queuing outside emergency departments, patients waiting on trolleys for hours on end and the whole system at breaking point.

Even more unedifying than seeing patients suffer as a result is the scramble by those responsible to shift the blame onto others, rather than stepping up to the challenge, listening to NHS staff and putting the resources in place to alleviate the problems.

Close to meltdown

This year looks like being no different to every other over the past three decades or more. Everyone in the service can see there are simply not enough staff and beds to cope. There is consensus among healthcare professionals and managers that care homes, community services and social care are close to meltdown.

Yet those who hold the purse strings obfuscate about the amount of money being spent and make absurd claims that there are enough nurses and doctors to cope.

It is easy to demand more money from ministers, but the simple truth is that the UK does not spend enough of its national wealth on health care.

We spend significantly less than countries with similar resources, including France, Germany and the Netherlands. It’s time our politicians took responsibility for what is happening in the NHS and made better spending choices.