NURSING leaders have accused the government’s new Health Secretary Victoria Atkins of insulting NHS staff by blaming them for record waiting lists.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), representing more than 300,000 nurses, warned a looming winter crisis in the NHS was leaving nurses caring for so many patients that their treatment was “unsafe.”

Ms Atkins, who was appointed to the role just under three weeks ago during a reshuffle by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said in a TV interview that avoiding a winter crisis in the NHS was her “number one priority.”