LONDON, (MILLAT+APP/AFP) – Britain’s NHS public health
service has been the country’s pride since 1948, but is currently
gripped by a “humanitarian crisis” due to “third world” conditions
that are piling pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May.
The stark image of 22-month-old Jack Harwood, wearing only
a nappy, stretched across two plastic chairs while waiting to see
a doctor in Accident and Emergency dominated the front-page of
the Daily Mirror on Friday, laying bare the depth of the winter
crisis.
Despite showing some of the symptoms of meningitis, the
toddler was only briefly seen by a nurse before having to wait
nearly five hours in A&E to see a doctor.
Doctors and hospitals have said the National Health Service
(NHS) is “approaching a tipping point”, with every winter putting
increasing stress on the free-at-point-of-use service.
The service, the world’s fifth largest employer with 1.5
million staff, is also political dynamite with the power to
decide elections.
Brexit campaigners made it one of their main campaign
themes, promising to channel it funds once earmarked for
Brussels.
But a raft of stories of NHS failure have hit the
newspapers over recent years as it struggles to cope with a
growing and ageing population and austerity policies.
The slightest surge in demand, such as this year’s
flu epidemic, can be enough to plunge it into chaos with
A&E waiting times surging.
Last week, 23 percent of patients waited more than
four hours to see a doctor while two patients died on
stretchers in a corridor at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital
this week, revealing a shortage of beds, ambulances and
doctors.