The government is warned that pressure on the NHS shows no signs of easing as ministers come under increasing pressure to respond to the crisis.
Top doctors have described the current situation as “unbearable” and “unbearable” as both the Prime Minister and Health Minister are facing calls to address growing concerns about the emergency care situation in the NHS.
More than a dozen NHS trusts and ambulance services declared critical cases during the festive season, and authorities cited rising flu cases and the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak as factors hitting healthcare.
But amid concerns that the crackdown will continue, the British Medical Association (BMA) said the Government’s “political choices” were causing patients to “die unnecessarily”.
Professor Phil Banfield, chair of the BMA council, said: “The current situation in the NHS is unbearable and unsustainable both for our patients and for the hardworking staff desperately trying to keep up with the incredibly high levels of demand.”
“The BMA has repeatedly invited the Government to sit down and talk about the pressures on our healthcare, but their silence is deafening.
“It is disingenuous for the PM to mention ‘supporting the NHS’ in his New Year’s message while his own Minister of Health has not discussed how this crisis can be resolved.”
He urged the government to “step up and take immediate action” to resolve the crisis.
“The government must fulfill its responsibilities to the people. It is not true that the cost of solving this mess cannot be borne by this country.
“This is a political election and patients are dying unnecessarily because of this election.”
Monday’s airwaves were filled with similarly harsh warnings, as the Royal College of Emergency Medicine reiterated claims that between 300 and 500 people die each week due to delays and problems in emergency and emergency care.
The Labor Party and Liberal Democrats have criticized the Government for inaction in recent days, and the latter has called for the recall of Parliament to discuss the situation.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting blamed the crisis on the Conservatives, whom he accused of “mismanaging” the NHS.
The Labor MP on Monday called it “inexplicable” that neither Rishi Sunak nor any of his ministers were responding to the challenges faced by hospitals in the UK.
“From what we’ve seen over Christmas and New Year’s, not a single government minister, whether Prime Minister or Health Minister, has raised his head or shown his face to say exactly what they’re doing to tackle this crisis. said.
Ian Higginson, Vice-President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, also told BBC Radio 4: “What we’ve been hearing in the last few days is that the current problems are all due to Covid or all of the flu. or that it’s complicated, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions – all that sort of thing.
“If you’re on the front line, you know this is a long-standing problem. It’s not a short-term thing. The kind of stuff we see happens every winter and it still seems like a surprise to the NHS.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “NHS staff are doing an incredible job and we are aware of the pressures the NHS is facing in the wake of the impact of the pandemic.
“That’s why we’ve supported NHS and social care with up to £14.1bn of additional funding over the next two years and an extra £500m this winter to accelerate hospital discharge and evacuation.
“We also gave a 9.3% salary increase to the lowest earners in the NHS last year.
“The Minister for Health and ministers have met with the unions several times and kept their doors open to further discuss how we can work together to improve the working lives of NHS staff.”