OVER the last few weeks many patients will have seen and experienced first-hand the problems highlighted by Andrew Fisk in this week’s SNJ.
Long queues, busy hospitals, overloaded A&E departments, under-pressure and over-worked staff – these sights are becoming more and more prevalent, and Stroud General Hospital and its clinics are no exception.
While it’s true that all hospitals feel the pressure during the busy winter months, figures that show 40 per cent of hospitals in the UK had to declare an alert in the first week of January due to high patient numbers reflects the scale of the current challenge.
All the while the debate rages on in the Commons, the Red Cross warn of a “humanitarian crisis” and the government pushes forward for a “seven-day” GP service against the advice of health chiefs.
The NHS is the country’s finest institution. But at the moment, it seems the government is not inclined to listen to the people on the front line – the many doctors, GPs and nurses that make the health service what it is.
Ask Mr Fisk rightly says: “Enough is enough.” The NHS needs more money and it needs it now. Without greater resources it will not be able to rise to the many continued challenges it will face in the coming years.
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