NHS calls in Red Cross volunteers and staff amid 'humanitarian crisis'

[dutchman]

Red Cross volunteers and staff are to help the NHS in England cope this winter as it warns of a “humanitarian crisis”.



The charity – which works to help people across the globe – said it was helping people get home from hospital and free up desperately-needed beds.

But head of the British Red Cross, Mike Adamson, said extra cash was vital for health and social care to make the system sustainable.

The charity has already provided support to staff at the East Midlands Ambulance Service across Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Kettering and Northampton.

Mr Adamson said: "The British Red Cross is on the front line, responding to the humanitarian crisis in our hospital and ambulance services across the country.

"We have been called in to support the NHS and help get people home from hospital and free up much needed beds.

"This means deploying our team of emergency volunteers and even calling on our partner Land Rover to lend vehicles to transport patients and get the system moving."

Highlighting the need to improve social care, he said: "No one chooses to stay in hospital unless they have to, but we see first-hand what happens when people are sent home without appropriate and adequate care.

"We've seen people sent home without clothes, some suffer falls and are not found for days, while others are not washed because there is no carer there to help them.

"If people don't receive the care they need and deserve, they will simply end up returning to A&E, and the cycle begins again."

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "The Red Cross being called in to help in our hospitals is just the latest staggering example of how the NHS is now being pushed to breaking point.

"For the Red Cross to brand the situation a 'humanitarian crisis' should be a badge of shame for government ministers."

He added: "The stark reality is the NHS is facing a crisis this winter and in need of urgent help from ministers. It's time Theresa May urgently faced up to her responsibilities and abandoned her policy of systematically underfunding our NHS."

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Jeremy Hunt accused of ‘hiding’ as Red Cross declares NHS ‘humanitarian crisis’



Jeremy Hunt has been accused of “hiding” from the public eye after the British Red Cross was called in to deal with a “humanitarian crisis” in overstretched NHS hospitals.

At the time of publication the Health Secretary had issued no comment on the unfolding health service crisis, following calls by the charity for an emergency cash injection to deal with unprecedented pressures on the under-funded health service.

When contacted by The Independent on Saturday the Department of Health said it was leaving it to NHS England, a non-departmental public body that oversees the NHS day-to-day, to comment on the response to the unfolding winter crisis.

The Liberal Democrats’ shadow health secretary Norman Lamb said Mr Hunt should “stop hiding” while Labour’s shadow health minister Justin Madders said the Mr Hunt was “refusing to acknowledge” the seriousness of the situation.

“This Government should be ashamed. It ignored calls for extra cash to support health and care services through the winter, and now it is patients who are paying the price,” Mr Lamb said.

“Jeremy Hunt must stop hiding and announce immediate measures to alleviate this crisis, including emergency funding to plug gaps across services that are putting patient safety at risk.

“The truth is that the Prime Minister and Chancellor are failing to provide the investment needed to deliver an effective, modern health and care system.

“The Government must also finally agree to work cross-party to secure the future of the NHS and social care in our country, so we don’t keep just going from crisis to crisis but find a long-term and sustainable settlement.”

Labour’s shadow health minister Justin Madders told The Independent: “For the Health Secretary to remain silent as this crisis unfolds represents either a complete denial of reality or utter embarrassment that this has happened on his watch.

“Jeremy Hunt cannot say that he wasn’t warned that this crisis was coming. Every major health organisation has been warning for months that the NHS was heading for disaster unless it got more funding.

“He has decided to ignore those warnings and we are now seeing a meltdown in our NHS that he is refusing to acknowledge. Patients, the staff and the public deserve better.

“Jeremy Hunt should urgently come up with a plan and resources to match to end the crisis.”

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Corbyn says Theresa May must come to Parliament to explain NHS crisis



Theresa May must come to the House of Commons on Monday to explain how she will fix the crisis in the National Health Service, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

The Labour leader issued the call to the Prime Minister after the British Red Cross was brought into assist with what the charity called a "humanitarian crisis" at some overstretched hospitals.

He described the situation as a "national scandal" and said Ms May and Jeremy Hunt had to take responsibility for it. Neither Mr Hunt nor Ms May has yet commented on the crisis, with the Health Secretary accused of "hiding" from the situation and the Department for Health referring enquires about it to NHS England.

Mr Corbyn said on Saturday afternoon: "The crisis in our NHS is unprecedented. People are lying on trolleys in corridors waiting to be seen. Hospitals have had to close their doors, unable to admit patients. The health service is at breaking point.

"But this crisis is not due to an outbreak of disease. It is a crisis made in Downing Street by this government – a crisis we warned them about.

"The Red Cross yesterday announced it is providing humanitarian assistance to NHS trusts that simply do not have the resources to cope.

"This is a national scandal – and Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt have to take both responsibility and urgent action to tackle it.

"I’m grateful to the Red Cross volunteers who have stepped in during this emergency, as well as the hard working NHS staff who are being let down and undermined by this government. But we should not have to rely on the Red Cross to provide the basic care the people of this country need.

"The fact is this government have repeatedly failed to put the necessary resources into our health service, while they have cut social care and wasted billions on a top-down reorganization to accelerate privatisation. And despite finding billions of tax giveaways for big business and the richest, Theresa May’s Conservatives failed to find a single penny for the NHS in their autumn statement.

"Our NHS cannot survive if this government does not change course. Labour is calling on the government to cancel their tax breaks for the wealthiest and fund our NHS instead.

"The people of this country need an explanation for the state of emergency in our hospitals, and an account of what action will be taken to end it. The only person who can do that is the Prime Minister. So I am demanding that the Prime Minister comes to the House of Commons on Monday and sets out to the British people how she plans to fix her failure on the NHS."

[rebbonk]

Whilst accepting that the NHS is a political football, this really isn't on.

Watch out for lots of, "It'll be better for all if privatised" rhetoric in the coming weeks. BTW, I've yet to see a privatisation that has resulted in real long-term benefits for the end user.

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I believe most of the NHS's current problems stem from cuts in local authority provision for the elderly with the latter now occupying some 60% of all NHS beds as there is nowhere else for them to go.

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Jeremy Hunt ditches four-hour target as A&E crisis deepens...

The four-hour waiting target at NHS A&E departments could be scrapped for non-urgent cases, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt signaled today.

He admitted some NHS hospitals are currently facing 'very serious problems' due to the sharp rise in the number of people attending A&E.

Mr Hunt pleaded with the public to stay away from A&E unless they had genuine emergencies. Hospitals say three in ten visits to A&E departments in England are not emergencies.

Mr Hunt also hinted at a root and branch review of how NHS England operates A&E departments.

He told MPs in an emergency statement today: 'It is clear that we need to have an honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments.'

But despite hospitals reporting unprecedented demand for services and two deaths in Worcestershire A&E last week, Mr Hunt rejected claims the NHS is in 'crisis.'

It led shadow health Jon Ashworth to accuse him of living in 'la la land'. He said Mr Hunt and No 10 were to blame for the 'winter crisis' in the NHS and said they made a 'monumental error' to ignore calls for extra support for social care last year.

Mr Hunt blamed the 'unprecedented' demand for A&E on an ageing population, increased life expectancy and 'higher consumer expectations' over what patients want from the NHS.

Hinting that the four-hour target for treating non-urgent cases at A&E could be scrapped, Mr Hunt said: 'This government is committed to maintaining and delivering that vital four-hour commitment to patients.

'But since it was announced in 2000 there are nearly 9million more visits to our A&Es, up to 30 per cent of whom NHS England estimate do not need to be there. And the tide is continuing to rise.

'So, if we are going to protect our four-hour standard, we need to be clear it is a promise to sort out all urgent health problems within four hours, but not all health problems, however minor.'

[rebbonk]

I don't necessarily object to this, many attend A&E who have no real reason to: they could go and see their GP but take the A&E route as it's more expedient.

I'd like to see any full proposal before committing my support to it though.

To be completely fair, my own very limited experience of our local A&E is very positive. The follow up service though, often leaves much to be desired.