Winter pressure: high demand, pension crisis, and flu could be “perfect storm” for NHS, warns BMA

Over a million patients could wait for over four hours at emergency departments this winter, and almost a third of a million could wait on trolleys, the BMA has warned.

In an analysis of current performance data and trends,1 the association has predicted that the NHS is on track to endure its worst ever winter as pressure on services intensifies in the coming months.

It said that a lack of recovery from the summer, staff shortages exacerbated by pension tax legislation forcing senior doctors to work fewer …