TODAY’S story about a mum who waited for 31 hours on a trolley in a hospital corridor is yet another example of how the NHS is letting down patients and the service’s staff due to a lack of funding.

Despite her ordeal at Worcestershire Royal, 33-year-old Helen Burton described the staff who helped her as “superheroes” – and that’s a message we hear again and again: the workers at our city’s hospital are brilliant but they are let down by a shortage of beds and enough colleagues to cope with demand.

After years of nightmarish tales of people spending hours on trolleys in corridors, clearly we now need a bigger hospital in Worcester with more staff to meet the rising demand of a growing population and increase in the number of senior citizens.

The problem is funding. The government keeps saying that NHS spending is being increased but are we seeing a huge difference on the frontline? Patients such as Helen Burton, and the hardworking staff who put in long hours and go above the call of duty to treat them, would no doubt say that the answer is no.