Streeting may be winning the PR battle, but not the hearts and minds of those who matter most

There are an array of numbers relating to the NHS that it's safe to assume make Wes Streeting wince.

- Denis Campbell

Take, for example, the number of tests and treatments in hospital that people in England who are sick are waiting for - 7.42m - and the number of people who need them - 6.24m. Both have come down since Labour took power 17 months ago but still remain near worst-ever highs.There is also the percentage of A&E patients across the UK who are routinely cared for in corridors, waiting rooms or ambulances because hospitals are so overcrowded - 18%. And there is also the estimated number of people in England who die every year because it took too long to find them a bed - 16,600, according to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. All worrying statistics.

Today brings another set of sobering statistics. This is day one of the 14th strike that resident - formerly junior - doctors in England have staged over the past 33 months in an effort to win what is now a 26% pay rise. The five days involved will be the 55th, 56th, 57th, 58th and 59th days of what NHS bosses privately fear could become a “never-ending” dispute.