Heidi Alexander MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, commenting on the Public Accounts Committee’s report into the financial performance of the NHS, said:

“This damning report should make required reading for George Osborne ahead of his budget on Wednesday. It reveals the scale of the financial crisis facing the NHS, and lays the blame squarely at the door of Number 10.

“The Tories’ failure to adequately fund the NHS, alongside their short-sighted cuts to nurse training places in the last parliament, have put huge pressure on the health service. Staff shortages are forcing hospitals to drain resources hiring expensive agency staff, and the Tories plan to scrap student nurse bursaries only risks making this situation worse.

“The human cost of this failure is patients facing longer waits and poorer care, with hospitals overcrowded and understaffed.

“The report is also clear that the Ministers have no idea how they are going to make the £22 billion worth of efficiency savings they are committed to in the NHS over the next 4 years. It’s no wonder they have repeatedly refused to rule out staff cuts and service closures.

“It’s time Ministers got their heads out of the sand and faced up to the growing crisis facing the NHS.”