“Not so long ago they wouldn't have made it to the doors of A&E alive.”
You make a very valid point, roopower. The demands on the NHS per head of the population have increased considerably due to advances in treatment. However, some resources have been freed up by similar advances. Many surgical procedures are now carried out as day-patients where not that many years ago an overnight stay (or longer) would have been required. Many procedures which do require a stay in hospital now need very much less bed time.
However, as I said in answer to another question recently, the number of heads has increased dramatically in the very recent past and none of our public services have been geared up to cope with such an increase because, foolishly, it was not predicted. Politicians were in denial (either that or they were deceitful) about the massive increase in population that has ensued in the last few years. So I still maintain that it is excessive demand, not short supply which is the main problem for all our public services. Quite simply there are too many people in the UK. That on its own may not have been such a problem had the increase occurred over a longer period and been properly forecast. But it didn’t and it wasn’t.