Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visited the Whittington Hospital in Archway on Friday where he told staff the NHS was facing “its worst crisis since it was founded”.
Warning that the NHS would be £2bn in debt by the end of next year, Mr Corbyn said: “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.”
Mr Corbyn referred to the fact that some hospitals have reported having to borrow money to buy medicines and pay wages over the Christmas period.
He praised NHS staff for doing “a fantastic job” and promised that the Labour Party would hold the government to account over what he said was their “shocking failure to support and protect the world’s best healthcare service”.
The Labour leader has been an advocate for the hospital many times in his role as Islington North MP, frequently asking questions about its future funding in the Commons.
He tabled an Early Day Motion in conjunction with other local and former MPs including Glenda Jackson and Frank Dobson in 2013, expressing concern about the potential impact of a proposed reduction in staff and beds at the hospital.
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