Of course we can pay for the NHS. We can’t afford not to | Harry Quilter-Pinner

The message from the Darzi review is clear: politicians must stop treating the health and social care system as a liability

“You’re always playing catch-up, from the minute you start. What we used to consider a busy day 10 years ago … is now quite nice. You worry you’re not giving people the care they deserve. You’re giving [them] the bare minimum you can … It’s not what you go into nursing for. If somebody said to me now that they wanted to go into nursing, I would say don’t.”

That’s the view of one nurse with over 10 years’ experience working in the NHS. Spring is upon us, but this year’s winter crisis – officially the worst on record – is still fresh in the minds on NHS staff. Operations cancelled, queues outside A&E, and people waiting on trolleys in corridors for treatment. Experts such as the British Medical Association suggest that this is “the new normal”: pressures on the NHS during the summer are set to equal those of winters in years gone by.

Related: Watching Hospital is chilling. Just how bad can NHS underfunding get? | Frances Ryan

Continue reading... April 26, 2018 at 03:39PM