In 1987, when deaths at a Birmingham heart hospital sparked a furore, the NHS was indeed in genuine trouble. John Moore's disastrous cuts had lead the heads of the mighty royal colleges to call on Downing Street in a formidable delegation. That led to the great Tory reforms - and more money. There were plenty who warned Labour back in 1997 that a two-year freeze would inevitably lead to a public explosion. Most doctors work very long, hard hours, with many committees and much paperwork.
Beds are too full all year round, so any slight crisis means trolleys in corridors.
If patients have to wait a week to see GPs, we need more doctors. Some services, like mental health, have always been calamitously underfunded. Not all NHS problems spring from lack of money - but money will make all the difference. Better community care will matter as much as better hospitals. The unions need to be listened to on conditions and hours to make NHS careers flexible, attractive and progressive.