How the UK trails its European neighbours for hospital capacity
Britain has fewer hospital beds per head than Germany, France and Italy.
ByNHS
The National Health Service is the publicly funded healthcare system in England, and one of the four National Health Service systems in the United Kingdom. Find here, the New Statesman’s latest comment and analysis on the NHS, including the government’s healthcare policy, the current crisis and the future of the NHS.
Is a huge NHS tax rise the only way to make lockdowns history?
Without a debate about paying for extra capacity in hospitals, pandemic chaos will continue to threaten the economy.
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Why “moonlighting” GPs should not be demonised for taking on extra work
Doctors say that primary care would “collapse” without GPs working privately to prop up the NHS.
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Is the Conservative government privatising the NHS by stealth?
As the waiting list grows ever longer, more and more patients are paying for their treatment themselves.
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Doctors were calling for winter “Plan C” to control Covid-19 in September, before Omicron
Medics warned three months ago that social distancing, requirements to meet outdoors and preparation for “further firebreak lockdowns” should be…
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Public appetite is growing for another lockdown
Twenty-eight per cent of people in England saying they would support only allowing people to leave their homes for essential…
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It’s not your doctor’s fault you can’t get an appointment
The shortage of GPs predates the pandemic and stems from the government’s longstanding failure to solve the NHS recruitment crisis.
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Boosters are making a big difference
Data shows a dramatic fall in cases among those who have received their third jab.
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“It’s every 999 caller’s worst nightmare”: Why aren’t ambulances reaching people in time?
A baby fits for two hours. A cancer patient suffers suspected sepsis for seven hours. A man is left to…
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Should I get a Covid-19 booster jab?
As the Omicron variant spreads, the government has opened up its vaccine booster program to try and avoid lockdown restrictions…
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From the NS archive: The young doctors’ dilemma
5 January 1946: Every class of society should be drawn upon for recruits to the medical profession.
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How the number of NHS beds in England has halved
The total number of hospital beds has fallen from 300,000 to 141,000 over the last 30 years.
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Boris Johnson’s “optimism” is a dangerous denial of reality
On Brexit and Covid-19, the Prime Minister’s positive thinking is an excuse for inaction in the face of grave problems.
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Will selective austerity continue to work for the Conservatives?
The political approach that has proved lucrative for the Tories over the past decade may not be suited to the…
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Boris Johnson’s recklessness over Covid-19 has led to a new NHS crisis
We are desperate to treat everyone and are failing to do so – because we have been set up to…
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Personal Story: On the Covid front line
As a junior doctor walking into the intensive care unit for the first time, I saw a ward lined with unconscious patients attached to…
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“We’re preparing for another spike”: A London NHS hospital chief reflects on the peak of Covid-19
A diary by Royal Free Hospital chief executive Kate Slemeck, reflecting on Britain's first coronavirus cases, hosting camera crews and the prospect of a…
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The peak
Inside the mind of Dr Jim Down, a leading intensive care consultant, on the night of the peak number of…
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From the NS archive: What remains of Aneurin Bevan
26 October 1962: Prompted by Michael Foot's biography of Aneurin Bevan, John Freeman gathers his thoughts about the father of…
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The wounded healer: how my father’s cancer led me to a life of helping others
Phil Whitaker draws on his experiences as a doctor to investigate how close we are to a cure for the “emperor…
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