Winter is coming. Can the NHS survive it?

It’s hard to remember a time when the NHS wasn’t at ‘breaking point’. But with more than 7 million people in England on the NHS waiting list, real-term wage decreases, over-stretched ambulance services, and impending strike action from nurses – can it make it through the winter? Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research at the Health Foundation, joins Siân Pattenden to weigh up if there is any hope of saving it.

• “The NHS staff are wracked with trauma post-Covid.”
• “We ran the NHS hot at the edge of capacity before the pandemic.”
• “Pay is far from the central factor of low staff morale, they haven’t felt valued for years.”
• “A lot of hospitals are now running food banks for their staff.”

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Presented by Siân Pattenden. Producers: Jet Gerbertson and Alex Rees. Assistant Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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