From the Daily Telegraph on 10 October:

“THE NHS could be heading for its worst winter beds crisis, with some hospitals already reaching breaking point, doctors warned yesterday.

“More than two months before the annual flu outbreak is expected, hospitals have begun turning patients away because they have no beds and too few staff. Some hospital managers have warned that levels of emergency admissions are far higher than this time last year and that the pressure on the NHS can only get worse over the coming months.”

Sounds familiar? What I neglected to tell you was that the article was published on 10 October 2000 - over 17 years ago. Winter crises in the NHS are nothing new. We have them virtually every year. So what has happened to NHS funding during those 17 years? Has it risen, stayed more or less the same, or has it decreased?