May ‘sorry’ as 50,000 have their ops axed
THERESA May yesterday apologised to patients after NHS bosses postponed more than 50,000 operations.
The Prime Minister used a visit to Frimley Park Hospital near Camberley, Surrey, to acknowledge that the delays were “frustrating” and promised the treatment would be rescheduled “as soon as possible”.
Thousands of operations have been put on hold for at least a month to allow doctors to focus on urgent cases. Mrs May insisted the NHS was “better prepared for this winter than ever before.”
“Of course there are winter pressures that the staff are having to cope with, we’ve put extra resources in, we’ve planned measures to ensure that people who need urgent care are getting that treatment and getting that care,” she said.
She spoke out after a former Downing Street adviser called for a cross-party probe into the NHS and a wide-ranging overhaul.
Nick Timothy also suggested people aged over 40 should pay higher National Insurance contributions to help cover the cost of elderly care. He said: “Health spending is not rising fast enough to allow the service to cope with increasing demand.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was “not good enough” for Mrs May to say the problems are “frustrating” and “disappointing”. He tweeted: “Nurses, doctors and patients are pleading with her to properly fund our health service, but she is ignoring them.”