THERE are many people working in the National Health Service who do a fantastic job in the most trying of circumstances – and we should never forget that.

The NHS itself is regularly chosen as a reason for Britons to be proud of our country but it is fair to say it has taken a bit of a knock this week.

A report into the deaths of 11 babies at a maternity unit in Barrow, Cumbria, is the latest scandal to engulf the institution, which seems to be under attack from all sides.

Locally we have the deepening crisis at our hospitals, as we report today in a special feature on pages 12 and 13.

New figures show a growing number of operations cancelled and people waiting longer to get a bed – all while the financial deficit continues to grow.

Indeed the situation is so bad that NHS watchdog Monitor could theoretically step in to run the trust in a matter of months if things do not improve significantly.

While we should be thankful our local NHS has not been tarnished by shameful episodes that have made Alder Hey and Mid Staffordshire familiar terms, this is still a worrying state of affairs.

That the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is by no means the worst performing should be no cause for complacency.

But what is to be done?

Much will undoubtedly be said about the NHS between now and the General Election – indeed it is a battleground that all parties are seeking to claim as their own territory.

However policies followed by Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in government have all caused great damage to an institution that is vital to all of us.

Perhaps it is time to give the NHS back to the professionals. It would certainly be a better than allowing it to be used as a political football.