LETTER: NHS is running on fumes

As leading doctors from across the UK gather for the annual British Medical Association (BMA) conference in Bournemouth, the Government must listen to the concerns of the medical profession as the chairman of the BMA warns that the Government is running the NHS on '˜nothing but fumes'.

Right across the East Midlands, health and social care services are at breaking point as ministers have continually ignored pleas from the profession about the impact that under-investment and poor workforce planning were having on the level of patient care being provided.

The public share these concerns with a recent BMA survey revealing that almost seven-in-ten people felt the NHS was headed in the ‘wrong direction’ and the figures showing that dissatisfaction with the NHS has almost doubled since 2015.

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With the UK spending less than leading European economies on health care, the NHS is left in a vulnerable position, with waiting times rising, patient care suffering and staff working under increasingly difficult circumstances.

The Government have the choice to improve the NHS to the level that patient’s deserve. They must do so before it heads even further in the wrong direction.

Dr Peter Holden

BMA East Midlands regional council chairman