A powerful new alliance of campaigners and trade unions has launched the SOSNHS campaign, demanding an immediate injection of another £20 billion in capital and revenue to help put England’s crisis-ridden NHS back on its feet.
The need for it is obvious from all the stories of patients dying in ambulances queuing outside A&E, the waiting list, set to soar above 6 million, the inadequate provision of beds and staff in the NHS compared with other countries, and desperate shortages and delays accessing mental health services – not to mention the dire state of social care.
£20 billion sounds like – and is – a lot of money: but after more than a decade of real terms freeze or cuts in NHS funding it would only be a down payment to address some of the most pressing problems. Much more investment will be needed – not least to fulfil government promises of building 48 new hospitals, expanding the workforce, and fixing social care.
Full story in The Lowdown, 19 January 2022