We were told the banks were too big to fail, is the same true of the NHS?

Can the NHS be allowed to fail in an election year? No, so we can expect some one-off money to keep it out of the headlines in the run up to a general election.

‘What will a failing NHS look like?’

But what then? Further privatisation if the Conservatives get back in, and if Labour win not much different because we can’t have yet another reorganisation. So more of the same but with an increase in funding in real terms for year one and a stay on hospital closures.

What will a failing NHS look like? Ambulances queuing outside hospitals, being unable to get a GP appointment; mental health services being described as a “car crash” by senior managers; the annual winter crisis in A&E all year round; scandals about poor care, poor food and dirty hospitals; open conflict between hospitals and local authority social services over bed blocking; hospital trusts declaring themselves bankrupt, forced mergers, expensive drugs which extend life expectancy for the terminally ill being declared unaffordable; IVF and cosmetic surgery no longer available on the NHS; ward closures, redundancies and staffing shortages; performance targets no longer published…