Cost of living crisis will add strain to ‘creaking’ NHS, experts warn

Staffing crisis drives nurses to strike ballot amid warnings of cancelled operations and surge in admissions

The cost of living crisis will add further strain to an already imperilled NHS this autumn, experts have warned, amid concerns the healthcare crisis could deepen if urgent action is not taken.

Healthcare professionals say the NHS is at risk of a surge in hospital admissions, operations being cancelled en masse, and increasing difficulties over discharging patients if such pressures, potentially combined with a further wave of Covid and a bad flu season, are not tackled.