This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
NHS is ‘running on fumes’, says BMA chief
Chief of the British Medical Association (BMA) has said that the NHS in England is ‘running on fumes’.
At the BMA’s annual conference in Bournemouth, Dr Mark Porter called out the government, accusing ministers of putting patients in jeopardy and ‘picking the pockets’ of NHS staff due to low wages.
Ministers rejected the claims, saying they were putting more funding into the NHS.
Porter said: “We have a government trying to keep the health service running on nothing but fumes. A health service at breaking point. Run by ministers who wilfully ignore the pleas of the profession and the impact on patients. It doesn't have to be this way. It is the result of an explicit political choice.”
He then went on to say that, in comparison to other developed countries, less money was being spent on England’s health system. This has a direct impact on patients, he argued.
It comes as the BMA released the results of a poll of over 1,000 adults about the NHS. It found that 82 per cent were worried about the future of the NHS, 62 per cent expected the NHS to get worse over the years, and 43 per cent of people were dissatisfied with the NHS.
A Department of Health spokesman has responded to Porter’s criticisms, saying that this ‘does a disservice to the achievements of NHS staff’ who have helped the NHS in seeing the ‘highest cancer survival rates ever’.
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