Our NHS is in a state of 'humanitarian crisis'

The Red Cross assists the NHS with patient transport provision as well as offering social care for patients returning to their homes after hospital stays. A few days ago, the Red Cross felt it necessary to claim that there exists a ‘humanitarian crisis’ within our NHS.

The BMA’s Chair Dr Mark Porter believes that NHS failings were reaching dangerous levels. Dr David Wrigley of the campaign group Keep our NHS Public urged the government to increase NHS funding in line with the EU average. He also called for an end and reversal of its piecemeal privatization programme.      

Jeremy Corbyn has also joined in the protest stating: "The fact is, this government have repeatedly failed to put the necessary resources into our health service, while they have cut social care and wasted billions on a top-down reorganization to accelerate privatization."

Maybe in Theresa May’s world medical provision has not reached a point of ‘humanitarian crisis’. Doubtlessly, Mz May can fall back on a private medical package to deal with her health issues. Yet away from Mayland, in the real world of hospital waiting lists, two-week waiting for GP appointments, elderly people unable to leave hospital due to a lack of social care in the home, overworked junior doctors, our NHS is in crisis.

However, despite the valid condemnation from a range of professionals and interested parties Theresa May has scorned the Red Cross’s ‘humanitarian crisis’ warning claiming that funding was “…now at record levels for the NHS".

In his condemnation of Tory ministers for creating the crisis in the NHS Len McCluskey sums up the situation thus: “In the world’s sixth-biggest economy, we are now relying on humanitarian aid to look after our elderly and our sick. Hunt has lost the people’s confidence, he must go. Theresa May must act.”