Doctors Accuse Rishi Sunak Of Overlooking The NHS In Summer Statement
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Doctors have accused Rishi Sunak of overlooking the NHS amid the “worst global health crisis in living memory”, calling the chancellor’s mini-budget “frankly astonishing”.
On Wednesday, Sunak unveiled his summer statement – a bundle of packages designed to help the economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) – a union for doctors in the UK – said the chancellor had ignored the health service in his new financial plans.
“Given this statement was made amid the worst global health crisis in living memory, and the government’s previous promise to give the NHS ‘whatever it needs’, the absence of any new commitment to significant health investment in the speech is quite frankly astonishing,” said Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair.
Earlier in the year, the NHS was given a cash injection to help it deal with the pandemic, Nagpaul said, but he added: “We cannot afford for this to be a one-off sticking plaster.”
According to the Treasury, the government has pledged almost £32bn during the crisis to help the NHS tackle coronavirus.
“Doctors and their colleagues have spent the last four months giving their all, often putting their own health at risk, battling this virus on the frontline,” Nagpaul added.
He warned that – without more financial support from the government – the NHS could be in a precarious position ahead of a potential second wave of coronavirus.
“Even before this crisis, a decade of underinvestment had resulted in record waits for care, a severely depleted medical workforce and services barely able to cope,” Nagpaul said.
“If the NHS is to not only meet the needs of patients who have had care suspended during the pandemic but also to be ready for a possible second wave, the government must bring forward significant further investment as a...
