Statement on a visit to the Whittington Hospital

The NHS is facing its worst crisis since it was founded. The NHS will be over £2 billion in debt by the end of the year.

The government is failing to meet its own targets: on A&E waiting times, cancelled operations, and cancer treatment times.

Add in the impact of George Osborne’s social care cuts, which result in longer and needless stays in hospital, and the human consequences are all too clear.

This week we’ve learned there are some hospitals that are so broke they are having to borrow money to buy medicines for patients and pay wages over Christmas.

Through all this, NHS staff are doing a fantastic job and I want to thank them for their hard work, dedication and incredible professionalism.

The Labour Party I lead will hold this government to account for their shocking failure to support and protect the world’s best health care service – our NHS.