In January, Dr Phil Whitaker made an open offer to politicians on the New Statesman Podcast: “Come and spend a day with me in my practice.” The health service was overwhelmed: ambulances were fatally delayed, patients were crammed into hospital corridors, and millions were waiting weeks for an appointment at their local surgeries.
Whitaker, a GP since the mid-Nineties, argued that those tasked with fixing the NHS should see the crisis up close. That crisis has persisted: the waiting list for hospital treatment has now reached a record 7.22 million.
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