NHS: From ‘record high’ satisfaction to ‘breaking point’ within four years of coalition government

The NHS was in excellent shape when Labour left office in 2010; now it isn’t. For this the coalition must take some of the blame

When the newspapers are singing from the same hymn sheet you know something really significant has occurred. And so it is on the NHS, with all of the big papers leading today on yesterday’s disastrous A&E waiting time figures – the worst for a decade.



Predictably, the Conservatives refuse to accept that their reforms and cuts have anything to do with the sharp fall in the performance of the NHS.

And important it is to recognise that this is a sharp fall. Compare for instance, the above image with the following news report from March 2011:



Quite a contrast, isn’t it?

And focusing on A&E specifically, there is good reason for the change in perceptions: since 2010/11 the performance of the A&E service has fallen sharply...

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