14 December 2023 , 22:28
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The worst of winter has yet to arrive and the NHS in England is already struggling.
Figures released yesterday paint a grim picture of a health service at breaking point. A third of patients waited more than four hours to be treated in A&E last month, while the average ambulance response time for a Category Two call such as a heart attack is now 38 minutes – more than double the target.
People are dying because they are not getting the emergency care they need in time. Others are waiting in pain and discomfort as a result.
The blame for this unacceptable situation lies with the Government. Hospital wards are full because it has failed to reform social care. There are staff shortages on almost every shift because of the failure to recruit enough nurses. Operations are being postponed – the waiting list in England is more than 7.1 million – because of 13 years of underfunding.
The NHS was one of this country’s greatest innovations. It should have been treasured by the Tories. Instead, they have wrecked it.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Out in the cold
There are 14 million disabled people in Britain, yet soon they will no longer have a representative in Government.
Rishi Sunak’s decision to axe the post of a dedicated Minister for Disabled People speaks volumes about his warped sense of priorities.
There are two immigration ministers and even a Common Sense tsar, whatever that is, but nobody to champion those 14 million.
The move is particularly egregious when the Tories are about to push through a back-to-work scheme that could strip them of benefits. By downgrading the post, the PM is effectively telling millions of people they don’t count.
Show pud will
Christmas is the most wonderful time of a year... for a family row.
And they don’t get more heated than whether to have Yorkshire puddings with your festive dinner. The best advice is to pud your differences aside and a remember what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.