Consultant paediatrician Dr Ravi Jayaram from the Countess of Chester Hospital believes the national NHS winter crisis is down to a 'chronic under-funding' by the government.
The Countess, like all other hospitals in England, has been forced to cancel non-urgent operations and appointments over the winter period so staff can concentrate on emergencies.
They also warned patients will face longer than normal waiting times in A&E to prioritise emergency cases.
Media reports have suggested the crisis is due to 'winter pressures' including viruses, alcohol, and flu, but Dr Jayaram, who has today (Thursday, January 4) written an opinion article in The Independent, is adamant there is more to it.
He told The Chronicle he believes the crisis is a 'direct consequence' of government policy leading to chronic under-investment in acute services and social care.
Dr Jayaram added: "The Countess, like all other hospitals in England is struggling to cope once again this winter, and this is not the fault of the doctors, nurses, patients or managers.
"The reason things are still going at all is down to the hard work being put in by staff at all levels," he explained.
"The fact that it has come to this is unforgivable as it has been clear to anyone working in the system that available capacity was never going to be able meet increasing demands without some services potentially having to be compromised."
Statement from The Countess
A statement from the Countess said: "You may have seen in the media that hospitals across the country are cancelling planned surgery and outpatient appointments to give greater support for emergency cases.
"We are no different at the Countess as we work with our doctors and nurses to make adjustments when appropriate to deal with the high volume of acutely unwell patients we are seeing at present.
"We are extremely busy at the moment and patients will face longer than normal waiting times in our Accident and Emergency department.
"Please know our amazing staff are doing everything they can to limit delays, but they are having to prioritise emergencies over other ailments."
In his column in The Independent which has been shared a number of times on social media, Dr Jayaram added: "How has this been allowed to happen? It is not the fault of patients, doctors, nurses, immigrants, drunks, Australian flu or hospital managers.
"It is entirely down to the Department of Health focusing so much on financial targets that the point of what we are trying to do is being lost. The health service is there for the patients who need it. We seem to be in a situation where the patients have become something of an expensive inconvenience who drain state resources."
Advice for anyone with planned hospital appointments at The CountessThe Countess has issued guidance to anyone who has an operation or appointment there between now and February. It says patients should attend as normal unless they have been contacted otherwise. All surgery relating to cancer care and emergencies will continue as normal. Patients are urged to only attend A&E if their condition is serious |
