Keep our NHS Public has called a day of action on Saturday as the NHS reports ‘unprecedented’ delays after a decade of Tory cuts and sell-offs. The organisation has issued the following statement:
Today’s latest monthly NHS situation reports predictably tell of an NHS under unprecedented strain. The number of urgent operations cancelled in December was 332. Added to this ‘there were 100,578 four-hour delays from decision to admit to admission this month, which compares to 83,554 in the same month last year’. This is the highest level of four-hour delays from decision to admit to admission since records began. ‘Of these, 2,846 were delayed over twelve hours which compares to 627 in the same month last year.’
In November doctors union the British Medical Association (BMA) analysed current performance data and trends, predicting that the NHS was on track to endure its worst ever winter as pressure on services intensified. A lack of recovery from the summer, staff shortages exacerbated by pension tax legislation forcing senior doctors to work fewer shifts, and a focus on Brexit planning rather than winter preparedness has now combined to cause the worst winter crisis on record.
More beds are urgently needed, however, even if new promised hospitals eventually materialise, these will not solve the bed crisis, as the NHS has now lost around 17,000 since 2010. The government’s promises will not alleviate the immense pressures facing the NHS this season, the best we can hope for is that these conditions are not replicated next winter. However, with a funding commitment that fails to account for inflation and is well below what experts agree is required, these statistics look set to be repeated throughout the coming year.
The NHS is now also haunted by the spectre of a Coronavirus pandemic, with assurances from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock that it is “well prepared” being met with scepticism. Long waits by vulnerable patients in densely populated A&E departments clearly have the potential to increase the spread of the virus.
Dr John Puntis, Consultant Paediatrician and Co-Chair of Keep Our NHS Public says:
“The latest performance figures for the NHS in England once again show the devastating effects of 10 years of Conservative austerity, with record target fails for A&E waits and cancer services, and a huge and expanding waiting list for elective surgery. Rather than boasting about its under-investment, the government should come clean that it’s so called “plans” amount to no more than treading water. The NHS and the public deserve much better – where are the promised Brexit dividend, the thousands more nurses and doctors, the new hospitals and the investments in community care? It’s time to take back control of our NHS from Johnson, Hancock and the private companies like Virgin that have been actively undermining it for all these years.”
Tom Gardiner, junior doctor and member of Keep Our NHS Public says:
“Sadly these latest performance figures come as no surprise to anyone who works on the NHS frontline. Whether it’s the trollies lined up in A&E, patients waiting longer and longer for an operation, or elderly people unable to get the care they need, our health service is falling apart at the seams. These are the consequences of a government that holds the public in contempt. Crisis has become the new normal for our health service but don’t be mistaken, the last 2 months have been some of the worst in the history of the NHS.”
In response to this news, Keep Our NHS Public are holding a Winter Crisis Day of Action this Saturday 15th February. Taking the form of marches, demonstrations and other events at over 20 UK locations we aim to raise public awareness of the crisis facing the NHS. Further details can be found by clicking here.
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The obvious problem is the Tories.
The underlying problem is that so many whingers and whiners are dim enough to vote for them.
Except in YOUR constituency, eh, dicky?
https://skwawkbox.org/2020/02/09/starmer-campaign-image-lists-places-labour-needs-to-win-no-mention-of-ne-nw-mids-or-yorkshire/#comment-136298
”Now then, Toff. What was your contribution to the magnificent December victory of Labour? In this consituency, a Labour MP was elected, instead of a festival of self-indulgence about purity and unreality being staged.”
🥱
That’s steve h’s default answer; the one that he uses when he’s bollocksed, too.
No originality. No shame. No brains. You lot are just too easy.
Most of the kids in the street wanted to play ‘FA cup’ but dicky and his sole mate wanted to play headers and volleys’.
Dicky said he’d respect a vote result; but then he took his ball home when FA cup’ got loads more votes. His mummy told dicky what would happen and he should go and play FA, cup but dicky knew better. He thought he could cajole the other kids because it was HIS ball.
But the other kids weren’t happy and grumbled loudly.
Then, when the nasty kid in the next street said he’d guarantee those kids could play FA cup if they went to his street, those kids went to play there instead.
And dicky STILL cries to his mummy & daddy that ‘it’s ALL their fault’ that he has nobody to play with and the nasty kid in the next street now calls the shots.
Poor dicky. 🙁
🥱
Has Uncle Festa taken the NHS off the table yet
Methinks not
John McDonnell
Was supposed to be bad cop and hatchet man but went soft,
Shame because him and RLB had put together a programme to take country forward in one giant leap,
A programme FDR and JMK would have signed upto
Most of our problems are self inflicted
Since the first days of the usurping of U.K. politics by an invasion of the Chicago economists poisonous doctrine, first experimented on in the Chilean coup of the early 70s, the whole raison de etre of the NeoLiberals is the privatisation of public services to satisfy their lust, avarice and insane greed for profit. Both wings of the same party pursued this goal for the last 40 years, normally by stealth but increasingly by open ended attacks against the public services in the U.K. So the notion that the Neo Liberals should be shocked in any way by the statements pouring out from the professional personnel who staff and run the NHS is taking the biscuit. Yet, these very same “ centrists, moderates “ and Blairites who fall under the umbrella of NeoLiberals could have prevented this happening by not supporting the enemies of the democratic socialist Labour Party. More than the Tories it was these so called supporters of the Labour Party are responsible for what is about to unfold.
The condem government of camamoron and made up name Clegg are responsible for the privatisation of the NHS..Lib den peer and gang of four Labour defecter urged the responsibility for the NHS to be ditched by the condem alleged government of the day.Any government including piffel Johnson’s Tory establishment regime can now sit back and deny the thousands of deaths this winter are down to them.In many ways the libs are more dangerous to the fabric of society than the Torys.The libs reinvent themselves every few years and poison the country with their limpdem politics.Very nearly as destructive as a right wing PLP dominating the Labour party.Yes in many ways Shirley Williams was ahead of her day in treachery against the people and managed with the libdems to bury the NHS.
Thatcher introduced the genesis of the privatisation of the NHS via a. starvation of funding b. “ Thatcher pushed for breakup of welfare state despite NHS pledge”. theguardian.com..
Moreover, her protege picked up the baton with their NHS internal market reforms. Let’s look at some of the beneficiaries of her protégés cabinet and advisors careers because of it. Alan Milburn, Secretary of Health until 2003. 29 th Jan 2015 guardian.com “ company owned by Alan had £663,000 profit increase in 2013-14 . AM Strategy, owned by former Labour Health Secretary, generated income primarily from healthcare consulting”.
The biggest players in Private healthcare in the U.K. are Bupa, BMI, Nuffield Hospital, which in the year 2000 had a combined turnover of £2.000,000,000. 24 th Oct 2013 Independent. co.uk “ Ex Blair advisor Simon Stevens who is linked to US healthcare giant is…” . 23 April 2014 opendemocracy.net “ A moment of honesty is required New Labour began the dismantling of our NHS”
Unfortunately, the myth that it was the Tories and the Tories alone who are in the words of Blair’s brother in blood, Bush, “ the evil doers” is simply a fable.
Yet, the “ centrists, the moderates “ and the Blairites who swear on their undying allegiance to the NHS are of the same convictions as their brethren in the Tory or the so called Libdem party which Charles Kennedy would find difficult to recognise. Yes, you are correct Joe about Williams and co.
Yes I agree with you Thatcher started the ball rolling and was a member of an exclusive club of neoliberal asset strippers.The club carried on with Blair and new Labour.We have done all we could to stop them,but standing on the picket line or setting up the NHS campaign with unison was never enough and here we are today,with a Labour party stuffed full of rightist politicians and I will not be sold a duck again by the NU Labour party..All of us feel cheated on a nailed on win…but it wouldnt have mattered because jeremy Corbyn might have been leader but that was in name only.The PLP rule and always will and that’s ok with a lot of party members who call it democracy.If you don’t like it change it I am told?…And in there the problem stays
Off topic slightly but I am puzzled at the curious rise of the pound against the euro which at some stages recently reached parity but is now at 1.21per pound.The doller and the pound fluctuate and is now around 1.30per pound.Does it mean the Tory party backers are confident in the government?…and if so Why?surely the country will take a Hit even though our “betters” may well prosper in the long term?
If you recall, during the 1980s through to today one of the barometers according to the embryonic Neo Liberal economists was the rise in the stock market plus an increase in GDP which was an indicator of a successful economy. However, the stock market, like the housing market, like the GDP are not necessarily indicators of success. Eg QE plus pumping asset, housing and CEOs share incentive Ponzi schemes are precisely that.
Moreover, if you recall, through the madness of measuring the money supply under Thatchers reign the pound was kept artificially high under another madcap Chicago economists scheme.
This is not something new of course. In the 1870s the city of London conducted a financial war of attrition to bring more gold back to them via higher interest rates, which caused one of the longest economic downturns in the real economy of the U.K. thus allowing the second Reich to be so successful.
The backers of the Tory government are one and the same. They are very confident that because of the economic illiteracy of much of the electorate, who voted for them, they can continue with the Ponzi scheme.
They “ betters don’t care” because they don’t visualise themselves wrapped in the cloak of nationalism, patriotism or any indicator which many people would judge themselves by. They are transnational financiers whose philosophy is based on profit and power.
Joseph, I think “confident in the government” might be putting it a bit strong 🙂
In July 2016 the pound was worth e1.43 one day, e1.20 the next and it’s never recovered.
Not surprising when the real (rather than hoped/feared) effects of brexit are still unknown.
Expect fluctuation this year though (he said, stating the blindingly bleedin’ obvious) – parity or worse wouldn’t surprise me.
David….dont remind me ,I bought a property in St John’s county relying on a exchange rate of 1.35and ended up at 1.15 I sold last year loosing confidence in the I RS and the sanctions on foreigners renting property in florida under trump.The old
world network will collapse and the dollar has to.They may control the swift transactions international money movement system but that and the petro doller are being challenged by China and Russia and many more countrys The western dominance of Commerce can’t continue but I still hope that the ordinary people in Britain do not suffer when it does inevitably collapse.And I am confident that the NU Labour party will still be in the thick of it arguing over who can be the most compassionate Neoliberal leader..!
Joseph, I forgot to thank you for mentioning Sihanoukville Autonomous Port on another thread – Google Street View lets you stroll along the wharves and it’s the kind of ramshackle place I’d love to spend time in and photograph if my old bones let me sail that far 🙂
I couldn’t even be arsed to scroll down & see your comment was on THIS thread Joseph, sorry.
Bored stupid 🙁
Exchange rates – and other aspects of the financial system – are essentially just part of the gambling industry, and subject to similar crowd-fed fluctuations of mood and rumour.
And on another topic,Decency and common sense shown here in Cambodia,when a Cruise ship with over 2000American tourists was allowed to berth at the port of Shounoukville.Turned away by five countrys including Japan ,where the near hysterical mania of a virus seems to have spread.Now I may soon be knocking back a few Angkor beers with our american cousins in kampot her which is about 25miles away and a”gem “of a old French colonial town.Ships need to refuel and water was low,but roumer and hysterical hyping of a virus seems to be the byline of the media..in the UK…I suppose a Communist virus is more deadly than the flu virus?
40 years of monetarism, trickle down, austerity economics is coming to an end, because it always does
Labour party needs to kicks out those who plot against us,
MSM and media, time to go to war with them and their owners
3rd FPTP get rid
Your a fucking anti semite and a racist
Sorry you feel that way
Is all we need to know about what’s wrong with our party at the moment
Good news is demographics, 10 million supporters, 600,000 members
I’ve only heard Harry Miller speak once, this morning, on his successful challenge in the High Court of police ‘intervention’ regarding his tweets on transgender issues.
He doesn’t seem like a natural socialist ‘~’ but he may have inadvertently done the left a favour by fighting for his own freedom of speech.
I believe NO-ONE has the right not to be offended and this decision, unless the Supreme Court reverses it, would appear to support that position.
The “Labour antisemitism” interminably complained of has consisted, as far as I’m aware, entirely of people taking offence at comments made by “Labour members” on social media, or their support for Palestinians.
As far as I’m aware there have been no beatings, refusals of employment or promotion, sackings, refusals of accommodation, denials of service or any other prejudicial or illegal ACTS by Labour members against Jews – but I haven’t researched the issue.
I suspect the Tories might try to have this decision reversed before freedom of speech spikes their guns on ‘antisemitism’ and control of social media.
If you look at Mr Millers SP you will see he has the usual rightist following, is an ex bobby himself and is the new darling of the ultra NeoLiberal “Spiked” crew. All you need to know.
David Walsh, I don’t need more than his little speech to camera to know him for what he is.
“He doesn’t seem like a natural socialist ‘~’ ” was intended as wry understatement.
Every word, every facial and physical expression was indicative of far right attitudes, hence “inadvertently.”
I’m old but I’m not exactly slow 🙂
Why no comments from Skwawky about the corruption of the Labour Party by the JLM, with the assistance of Jennie Formby, to keep supporters of the Palestinians out of the Party and turn it into a Zionist fan club?
https://dorseteye.com/dear-jenny-formby/
All the current Leadership candidates are on board with this corruption and are falling over each other to prove who is the strongest Zionist. This is the end of the Labour Party. It has now become the UK Zionist Party.
Certainly, there is something massively out of kilter about leadership candidates vying with each other to effectively make the following statement :
“I promise to support a militaristic neo-colonial regime that operates a discriminatory apartheid system with a history of ethnic cleansing and the violition of the human rights of the inigenous people, and which is condemned in international law.”
Strange times.