6th May 2024

NHS budget: We spend less
The Kings Fund: ““We spend below average on our health service compared to our peers, so it’s not surprising that we have fewer hospital beds, doctors, nurses, MRI/CT scanners. To a certain extent, you get what you pay for.”

Murders point to inadequate mental healthcare
The Hainault tragedy may turn out to be the latest in a series of high-profile killings that have focused public attention on the adequacy of mental health treatment and care. A study by London’s Violence Reduction Unit of 50 homicides,….found mental illness was a “key factor” in 29 cases. Yet the mental health budget has been cut yet again. The crisis in mental health services is analysed here.

“Cuts will result in deaths”
Hospitals are being forced to cut medical staff, threatening their ability to care for patients, senior health leaders have warned. NHS leaders had been recruiting medical staff as part of their efforts to tackle the waiting lists backlog, but they are now being told their priority must be to balance the books.

Stockport hospital ceiling collapses
Parts of ceilings have fallen in at two key units of a decrepit NHS hospital, forcing it to evacuate patients and cancel X-rays and scans. The problems at Stepping Hill hospital in which is plagued by leaks and major structural defects, have prompted claims it is “dangerous for both patients and staff”.