The past weeks have been dominated by what has been termed a crisis in the National Health Service. This may well prove to be a deciding factor in the fast approaching General Election.

Hospitals up and down the country are having to turn people away as their Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments are under ever increasing strain.

As a member of Wiltshire Council’s Health Scrutiny committee, I have for over a year now heard of likely underlying causes of the problem. These range from the shortcomings of the 111 phone line, bed-blocking caused by adult social care limitations, to pressures on GP surgeries. Some critics lay the blame at the costly Coalition top-down NHS reorganisation.

Then, on Friday, I read a newspaper report that crystallised all these matters. It concerned Hinchingbrooke Hospital. This is the first NHS hospital to be run by a private company, Circle, which has Bath connections.

The national regulator, the Care Quality Commission, has branded Hinchingbrooke as “uncaring” on a number of dimensions and immediately placed it in special measures. At practically the same time Circle announced its intention to terminate its contract with the NHS to run Hinchingbrooke. It claimed that it was losing far too much money after government cuts to hospitals and the unprecedented demand on A&E.

Circle’s hard-nosed financial statement exposes all the political cant about the NHS being in safe hands.

Jeff Osborn, Independent Wiltshire Councillor, Chepston Place, Trowbridge.