Little Asher Sinclair should not have died. But that is what happened when home care package failures meant his breathing tube broke loose.
Great Ormond Street Hospital knew exactly what Asher needed and warned his parents the local NHS might try to give him less. This sums up the state of our overstretched and underfunded NHS. All of us now get less.
Less chance of an ambulance turning up in under 12 hours and more hours waiting to get into hospital as it queues up outside.
Fewer nurses and midwives because they can find better paid, less stressful jobs elsewhere. Too few doctors because not enough new ones are being trained. And it seems as if there is more chance of winning the lottery than getting an appointment with a GP.
We will get even less from the NHS if nurses now go on strike. But a 20% real terms cut in wages means they have finally had enough. The pandemic must take some blame for record waiting lists but 12 years of Tory NHS neglect has made a bad situation worse.
It is true the NHS and those who work in it desperately deserve more money. But not all the ills of the NHS are about funding. A 21st century health service cannot operate under much the same principles as when it was founded in 1948.
Reform is needed. And politicians must be courageous enough to start the debate which leads to that.
Don't pick on the poor
Jeremy Hunt’s Budget will hurt us all.
But we urge him to consider the one in three adults who will be penniless within three months if he goes too far.
We accept the Chancellor badly needs cash, but he should get it from those most able to pay – the oil and gas giants, those on more than £150,000 a year, and those with multiple homes. And he must use that money to protect the most vulnerable by raising pensions and benefits in line with inflation.
We know Thursday’s Autumn Statement will be painful. But Mr Hunt must at least ensure it is fair.
