Britain's National Health Service is in "terminal decline" caused by incompetent managers and Government targets, claims a leading UK surgeon. John Riddington Young, an ear, nose and throat specialist who works at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, blames overpaid executives for "trying to run the NHS like a supermarket" using systems that have left patients worse off than 30 years ago. He said morale among NHS staff is at an all-time low, with many senior doctors retiring early and newly qualified medics dropping out of the profession.