In its lead, the Daily Telegraph reports that NHS productivity is being driven “ever lower as a result of staff shortages and a lack of operating theatre space”, with surgeons carrying out scheduled operations only one day a fortnight. In an interview with the paper, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England said the threat to patient safety from industrial action was “extremely concerning” but the paper reports that Prof Neil Mortensen “was even more worried about the harm being inflicted by widespread workforce shortages, resulting in a lack of capacity to clear backlogs”.