'We're in the s***. It's time for a leader to tell the public what the NHS really needs'

Make no mistake, say doctors in Greater Manchester, politicians can't put the blame on waits for GP appointments, the disappearance of NHS dentists, and the harrowing stories of patients waiting hours on end in A&E solely on the pandemic.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, some of the region’s most senior and experienced medics have shared their grave warnings for the new Labour government - and their hopes.

Nonetheless, there's an expectation that things won't change quickly.

“In two years, I’ll be back saying the same thing. I know that because I’ve been saying it for the last 15 years,” says one GP. While an A&E consultant sighs: “We live in hope.”

READ MORE: After 14 years of Tory rule, is Manchester any Greater?

What NHS insiders are in agreement about is that 14 years of Conservative government did not leave the country’s health and social care services in a better position than they were found in.

Instead, the sight of ambulances queuing up outside A&Es, stories of patients waiting months for operations and struggling to keep their pain at bay, and children fall behind in school because it takes so long to get a diagnosis for ADHD and autism have abounded.

“Without a shadow of a doubt, things have declined and deteriorated more than I would have ever expected in the last 14 years,” said one A&E consultant in one of the north west’s major hospitals.

"There was a period until about 2014 from around 2006 when we were absolutely reaching targets more than 98 per cent of the time. Patients weren’t waiting a long time, consistently."

For one hospital doctor, providing lots more beds is key to ending the problem of long waits in A&E. They believe it's the only way staff have a hope of getting back to the