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May's long-awaited 'plan' won't heal an NHS cut to ribbons by Tory policies
JOHN LISTER asks what the future holds for the health service in light of government refusal to provide it with proper funds

THE repeated postponement of the 10-year “long-term plan for the NHS” called for during the summer by Theresa May is partly a product of the fixation on Brexit — but partly a reflection of the cleft stick in which NHS England is trapped.

The NHS is saddled with a massive staff shortage exacerbated by eight years of real-terms pay cuts for staff and the increased pressures on front-line staff, and a wholly inadequate budget which we now know is set to continue falling behind increased costs for another five years.

But it is also lumbered with a fragmented structure and legislation (Andrew Lansley’s 2012 Health and Social Care Act) that squanders resources on carving up services and contracting, and blocks any effective strategic planning or collaboration.

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