Time we got off this road to nowhere

THE NHS is trying its best to achieve the impossible, doing a lot more with a lot less. That’s the unenviable task it has been set by this Government, which is intent on making £20billion of cuts by the end of this decade.

But finding fresh savings is not the only challenge. The NHS is already seeing a million patients every 36 hours – and rising.

And hospitals’ costs are rocketing because of inflation. That’s why trusts this year face overspending by almost £6billion. NHS Confederation chief Niall Dickson summed up the risk of staying on this path, saying: “Last year, the NHS managed incredibly well but we cannot continue to rely on a hope that viruses will not wreak havoc, the weather will be clement and staff commitment will get us through.”