NHS funding crisis

It’s shocking. It’s shameful. It should never have happened. But last week, several people died, stuck on hospital trolleys. They were desperately ill, but left waiting for hours in the corridor of their local A&E. There just weren’t enough beds for them. [1]

This is what happens when the government refuses to fund the NHS properly. If enough of us add our names to a petition today, we can make sure that politicians hear our demand: the NHS needs more money to keep us patients safe.

Today MPs are arriving back in Westminster for the first time this new year. This scandal needs to be at the top of their agenda. So if the petition reaches 100,000 signatures today we’ll send a copy to every MP by the end of the day.

Our doctors and nurses work tirelessly to give us good care. But for years now, our NHS has been starved of cash. There just isn’t enough money – or enough beds – to care for all of us safely. [2]

Last week it happened in Worcester. But unless the government urgently releases more funds for the NHS, soon it could be a different corridor in an NHS hospital near you. The government has been warned time and again by experts, but the message isn’t getting through. [3] So it’s time for us – ordinary citizens who care about the NHS – to step in instead.

38 Degrees is a way for all of us to come together to stand up for things we care about. Each of our small, individual actions – like signing this petition – can add up to an unstoppable force for change. If enough of us stand up for a safe, properly funded NHS, there’s a real chance we can force politicians to listen.

PS. Here’s how one senior doctor, the president of the Society for Acute Medicine, Dr Mark Holland, describes the funding crisis:

“We have got to the point where the efforts of staff to prop up the system are no longer enough to keep the system afloat. We are asking NHS staff to provide a world-class service, but with third world levels of staffing and third world levels of beds.

“That so many other hospitals in England are facing the same pressures as the one in Worcester means that other fatalities could occur. I would suggest that the same thing could happen in other hospitals, because lots of hospitals are under the same pressures.”

We can’t let this happen! Please sign the petition today:
http://link.38degrees.org.uk/NHS-funding

NOTES:
[1] The Guardian: Three patients die at Worcestershire hospital amongst NHS winter crisis:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/06/three-deaths-worcestershire-royal-hospital-nhs-winter-crisis
The Guardian: ‘It was manic’: patients describe meltdown at Worcestershire hospital:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/06/it-was-manic-patients-describe-meltdown-at-worcestershire-hospital
[2] BBC News: Is the NHS underdoctored, underfunded and overstretched?:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36198952
The King’s Fund: The King’s Fund responds to latest NHS performance statistics:
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/press/press-releases/latest-nhs-performance-statistics
[3] The Guardian: NHS chiefs warn that hospitals in England are on brink of collapse:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/10/hospitals-on-brink-of-collapse-say-health-chiefs
Daily Express: Health service ‘will implode’ this winter:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/720846/NHS-warning-closure-performance-appointments
Daily Mail: Chancellor rules out more cash for the NHS despite warnings health service is facing ‘unsustainable’ pressure:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3959210/Chancellor-rules-cash-NHS.html