More evidence that the Tories are running the NHS into the ground

The Sun’s front page story this morning should come as no surprise to those who have been following the Government’s approach to the NHS. But the fact that the paper that has been one of the Conservative’s biggest cheerleaders over the past four years is running a three-day investigation into how badly the NHS is being managed should put all of us in no doubt: the National Health Service is in big trouble.

With the headline “CRITICAL”, an inside two-page spread (£) tells of a health service in crisis, as budget cuts, top-down reorganisation and privatisation take their toll. Polling carried out by YouGov for the newspaper shows that one in three people thinks the NHS has got worse in the last year alone – with only one in twenty saying they feel it’s improved.

As LabourList reported two weeks ago, A&E waiting time targets have now been missed every single week for a year. Part of the reason for this is that people are simply unable to get GP appointments due to oversubscribed doctors, and are going to Accident & Emergency centres for a lack of other options.

Dr Maureen Baker, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said:

“It’s becoming harder than ever to get a GP appointment. We have a ticking timebomb and, unless something is done, general practice as we know it will disappear.”

The crisis in the NHS is the focal point for Labour’s summer campaigning, and Andy Burnham, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, is set to make a major speech tomorrow – outlining “The Choice” for our health service. It might just be worth paying attention to.

After just four years, the NHS looks more precarious than it has ever been. Once again, we’re left wondering: Can we ever trust the Tories with our NHS?