Policymakers should be asking themselves whose quality of life worsens thanks to the current unplanned mess.
Javid admits “it’s not just a question of winter pressures.” 5.9 million people are waiting for elective procedures.
The Health Secretary adds that “it is right to ask if people who are trying to get to the UK from safe countries, like France, are genuine asylum seekers.”
This secondary option – should the NHS struggle during winter – is in no way as strict as the ones before.
When he was Mayor of London, I outlined to Boris Johnson how we have the potential to become the largest economy in western Europe.
It’s sticks and carrots from the Health Secretary as he attempts to boost face-to-face surgery appoinments.
The Chancellor is damned if he yields to backbenchers’ demands for bailouts – and damned if he doesn’t.
Speaking to a Conservative MP, his view of the biggest issue facing the party was simple: ‘access to a GP’. His mailbox was filling up.
“I have been in this job 100 days, and I can tell you its my toughest one yet,” he says.
He says that road haulage interests are trying to revive the pre-Brexit economy – but that the Government will stand firm for higher wages.
In the debate about face-to-face appointments, it gets forgotten that some patients prefer video and telephone consultations.
Our introduction to: what each Bill is, the politics of it, who’s responsible, arguments for and against – and a controversy rating out of ten.
Some surgeries are still refusing to see people in person. The Government is under huge pressure to change that.
It isn’t about naming and shaming, but making sure ministers and NHS professionals are best able to serve patients’ interests.