The 90% of trusts predicting a deficit are caught in a catch-22: to skimp on staffing and standards,or spend money they don’t haveThe NHS is on the brink of a major, messy failure. If nothing is done to address the underlying issues now, and the failure will be deep with grave consequences and a long recovery. This winter things are set to travel catastrophically incorrect.
Pressure on health services normally reduces in summer,often producing undue optimism about how they will cope come winter and delaying essential preparations. Last summer there was virtually no reduction in pressure. Oddly, this failed to dent the optimism. The revised account was that unrelenting pressure had become a year-round phenomenon, or so increased numbers and longer waits were now normal and the coming winter wouldn’t be any worse. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com