CARE in the community was a cornerstone of the Labour manifesto prior to the 2015 General Election, where they identified an impending crisis within the NHS. Unfortunately, the voters opted for a Tory government.

Remember the much heralded re-organisation of the NHS introduced by the Tory dominated coalition in 2010 which cost the taxpayer over £3bn – with what result?

We now face what the Red Cross describes as a “humanitarian crisis”.

Six years of savage cuts to local councils, closure of care homes and shortages of care workers who care for the infirm in their own homes has signalled a return to the 1990s – that was the time when trolleys, some containing dying patients, cluttered hospital corridors. Recognise the picture?

Elderly patients, awaiting discharge, have nowhere to go, resulting in bed blocking – and this includes the mentally-ill.

All of this is putting intolerable pressure on all areas of the NHS particularly A & E.

Come the next election, beware that what you wish for.

Maurice Baker, Spennymoor.