Health service winter alert

Just one in 12 health workers say the NHS is better prepared going into this winter than it was last year, according to a new GMB general union poll.

In the survey of almost 2,000 ambulance and other NHS workers, almost all (92%) said they did not think the NHS was better prepared, and more than two thirds (67%) said that patient care had worsened over the previous 12 months.

The union pointed to the latest NHS performance figures showing that while waiting lists have fallen, “long waits in A&E have soared”.