WHAT WE’RE ALL SAYING FIONA PARKER Time for Hunt to bail out the NHS THE ISSUE

Twelve union chiefs, including those of the BMA and Royal College of Nursing, signed a joint letter to Jeremy Hunt calling on him to give the NHS an emergency funding boost. Hospitals have been told to cancel all non-emergency ops until February leading t

THIS Tory Government has always extolled the benefits of choice and what is happening in our hospitals shows exactly what their choices are.

They say they have planned their actions to combat the expected pressures on the NHS over the winter. But if this is true, why did they allow hospitals to allocate appointments for January if they had planned to cancel them?

Every time extra money for the NHS is mentioned, the Tories say they are spending record amounts, but we all know that with inflation the amount allocated increases. In real terms, their spending has been significantly lower than under Labour. Also, thanks to Brexit, many EU staff have left making life even more difficult for those remaining. I hope very soon this useless Government will give us a choice so that we can vote them out of office. Terry Marriott, Waterlooville, Hants In a recent party political broadcast, Theresa May claimed the Government was putting billions more pounds into the NHS, while Jeremy Hunt has said current problems are due to winter pressure on services. So, who are we to believe? The Chair of the BMA and 11 other union leaders who signed a letter to Mr Hunt to plead for more funds for the beleaguered service (Mirror, January 15), or Mrs May and Mr Hunt who say there is no crisis? We need to have a debate between Hunt, May and the medics so we get to know the truth.

R Wisson, Macclesfield, Cheshire Please don’t look for innocent scapegoats such as people living longer or an ageing population. The blame for the state of the NHS lays with this useless Tory Government.

They have waged war on the health service since they came to power in 2010. Firstly with a topdown reorganisation that no one needed, then an attack on the junior doctors and a 1% pay cap on all staff.

Then we had the reduction in social care services as part of their austerity cuts. They are to blame and no one else.

Michael Elias, Carmarthen, Dyfed

Our NHS is the biggest victim of the Tory’s neglect. I am one of the ageing population that Jeremy Hunt is using as a scapegoat for the crime of living too long, even though I have paid into the system all my working life. The man is a disgrace.

Roger Grant, Thurnscoe

South Yorks

This A&E crisis and lack of beds in our hospitals is a direct consequence of the Conservative Party’s obsession with cutting costs at a time of unprecedented demand from an ageing population. Surely, it is time to have a vote of no confidence in this Tory Government who are obviously out to destroy the NHS, then privatise it.

J Randall, Morley, West Yorks

There are plenty of resources which could help the NHS, but they are just not being made accessible.

The Tories are strangling the life out of the NHS as they want it to fail so they can privatise it, like other services.

Davies Colin

Liverpool

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SAVED Lemar won skate-off, inset, panel