The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the reality of years of chronic underfunding of the NHS. The reality of cutbacks has been evident in the scramble to obtain appropriate PPE, the lack of available ventilators, as well as staff shortages. The pandemic has led to a substantial increase in those on waiting lists, reflective of a longer-term crisis within the NHS. This raises the question of NHS management and illustrates the impact of privatisation.
An enormous expansion of health service facilities, resources and staff would be required to ensure a high quality of care and safety continues as we work and live with Covid-19.
The spread of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 has become a major health crisis, unlike anything seen in a century. At the time of writing, around 156 countries have been impacted, with more than 170,000 infected and more than 6,500 confirmed deaths, including 36 in Britain and 2 in Ireland, with those figures likely to rise dramatically.
The annual winter crisis in the NHS reached even greater heights over the recent weeks as the Tory government’s funding freeze resulted in huge pressures at emergency departments across Britain and Northern Ireland. In the South, the same story was repeated again,the result of chronic under funding.
