THOUSANDS of doctors sent a stark warning to the government yesterday that NHS funding cuts are putting patients’ lives at risk.

A letter signed by 2,000 GPs, specialists and consultants warned that medics have “unacceptable levels of safety concerns for our patients.”

They called on the government to increase healthcare spending to at least 10 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product to meet demand.

The letter, published in the British Medical Journal, said: “We are constantly failing to meet our own and our patients’ expectations. We feel handcuffed and paralysed working in this current NHS.

“We are exasperated and feel demoralised because we are not able to provide and develop the excellent care we were trained to give.

“We are simply fighting fires on a daily basis.

“There is a real risk of a brain drain at our level from the UK if this government does not listen to us.”