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Dying nurse says he will use days he has left to stop Tories destroying the NHS

'The Government is killing the NHS and steering us all towards privatisation of the health service'

Sunday 28 January 2018 13:21 GMT

Protesters hold a placard with a model of a vulture during a march against private companies' involvement in the NHS (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

A nurse diagnosed with terminal cancer has vowed to use the days he has left to stop the Conservatives from “killing” the NHS.

David Bailey, a nurse for the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, has been working for the NHS for 35 years.

After being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in October and given a year to live, he said he is “determined” to “fight this Government tooth and nail.”

In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, Mr Bailey said: “There has never been a more important time to stand up and protect our NHS. It is in crisis and I want to do my bit.

“The public needs to realise what’s happening. The Government is killing the NHS and steering us all towards privatisation of the health service.”

Jeremy Corbyn accuses Theresa May of committing the NHS to 'death by a thousand cuts'

Mr Bailey told the paper: “I’m determined, with the life I have left in me, I will fight this Government tooth and nail.

“The care I’ve received has been fantastic. I love the NHS and I want that care to be in place for my children and grandchildren.”

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

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1/6Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

The elderly

“We acknowledge that there are pressures on the health service, there are always extra pressures on the NHS in the winter, but we have the added pressures of the ageing population and the growing complex needs of the population,” Theresa May has said. Waits of over 12 hours in A&E among elderly people have more than doubled in two years, according to figures from NHS Digital.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs

Jeremy Hunt has called for a “honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments”, saying that around a third of A&E patients were in hospital unnecessarily. Mr Hunt told Radio 4’s Today programme the NHS now had more doctors, nurses and funding than ever, but explained what he called “very serious problems at some hospitals” by suggesting pressures were increasing in part because people are going to A&Es when they should not. He urged patients to visit their GP for non-emergency illnesses, outlined plans to release time for family doctors to support urgent care work, and said the NHS will soon be able to deliver seven-day access to a GP from 8am to 8pm. But doctors struggling amid a GP recruitment crisis said Mr Hunt’s plans were unrealistic and demanded the Government commit to investing in all areas of the overstretched health service.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Simon Stevens, head of NHS England

Reports that “key members” of Ms May’s team used internal meetings to accuse Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, of being unenthusiastic and unresponsive have been rejected by Downing Street. Mr Stevens had allegedly rejected claims made by Ms May that the NHS had been given more funding than required.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Previous health policy, not funding

In an interview with Sky News’s Sophy Ridge, Ms May acknowledged the NHS faced pressures but said it was a problem that had been “ducked by government over the years”. She refuted the claim that hospitals were tackling a “humanitarian crisis” and said health funding was at record levels. “We asked the NHS a while back to set out what it needed over the next five years in terms of its plan for the future and the funding that it would need,” said the Prime Minister. “They did that, we gave them that funding, in fact we gave them more funding than they required… Funding is now at record levels for the NHS, more money has been going in.” But doctors accused Ms May of being “in denial” about how the lack of additional funding provided for health and social care were behind a spiralling crisis in NHS hospitals.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours

Mr Hunt was accused of watering down the flagship target to treat all A&E patients within four hours. The Health Secretary told MPs the promise – introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 2000 – should only be for “those who actually need it”. Amid jeers in the Commons, Mr Hunt said only four other countries pledged to treat all patients within a similar timeframe and all had “less stringent” rules. But Ms May has now said the Government will stand by the four-hour target for A&E, which says 95 per cent of patients must be dealt with within that time frame.

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Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis – except themselves

No one

Mr Hunt was accused of “hiding” from the public eye following news of the Red Cross’s comments and didn’t make an official statement for two days. He was also filmed refusing to answer questions from journalists who pursued him down the street yesterday to ask whether he planned to scrap the four-hour A&E waiting time target. Sky News reporter Beth Rigby pressed the Health Secretary on his position on the matter, saying “the public will want to know, Mr Hunt”. “Sorry Beth, I’ve answered questions about this already,” replied Mr Hunt. “But you didn’t answer questions on this. You said it was over-interpreted in the House of Commons and you didn’t want to water it down. Is that what you’re saying?” said Ms Rigby. “It’s very difficult, because how are we going to explain to the public what your intention is, when you change your position and then won’t answer the question, Mr Hunt”. But the Health Secretary maintained his silence until he reached his car and got in.

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He criticised the Government’s policy for a lack of qualified nursing staff: “I don’t blame the Trusts. I blame Tory policy.

“This is not just a winter crisis. It’s got worse in the last eight years. They introduce short term fixes, but they can only do that for so long.

He added: “The crisis is not because of an ageing population, that’s foreseeable and you plan for it. It’s nothing to do with immigration or health tourism. Immigrants are the bedrock of the NHS, from doctors to cleaners.

“This is the Government deflecting attention from themselves.”

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