Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt ‘completely out of touch with scale of A&E problems’

Jeremy Hunt has been accused of being “completely out of touch” with the scale of the problems facing A&E departments across the country.

Dr Mark Holland, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said he found himself in “disbelief” after Mr Hunt rejected claims of a widespread crisis and said hospitals are performing slightly better than last year.

Doctors, including from the Society for Acute Medicine and Royal College of Emergency Medicine, have been speaking out about what they see as intolerable pressure on A&E departments.

On Friday, the Red Cross described the situation as a “humanitarian crisis”, saying people were suffering due to systemic failings in the health and social care system.

The charity, which is called in by the NHS to help when needed, has been working in 20 A&E departments to try to relieve pressure.

Official data out on Friday showed that A&E departments are struggling to cope with demand and are continuing to fail to meet the target to deal with patients within four hours of arrival.

NHS 111 had its busiest week ever in the week ending January 1, with 457,000 patients calling the helpline.

The number of hospital beds which had to be closed was double that of the previous year due to levels of norovirus.

Throughout December, overflowing A&E departments shut their doors to patients more than 140 times, a 63% rise on the 88 recorded the previous year.

NHS officials say these A&E diverts should only occur as a last resort and are put in place when A&E departments cannot cope with any more patients.

On Monday morning, the Health Secretary said “one or two” hospitals have been under severe pressure and repeatedly urged the public to stay away from A&E departments unless they have a genuine emergency.

But he said people such as Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, rejected the idea there was a wider crisis and did not think it was an “appropriate description”.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Mr Hunt said it was “totally unacceptable” that people waited for hours on trolleys in A&E.

But he said: “This is the most difficult time for the NHS in the year, it always is very difficult after the Christmas period when GP surgeries are not open over the actual days of Christmas and then they re-open and then a lot of people get sent to hospital.

“I have said there are some very severe problems in some hospitals, but we also have to listen to people like Chris Hopson who represents all the hospitals in Britain, no friend of the Government when it comes to NHS policy, who says that there is not a generalised crisis. The vast majority of hospitals are actually coping slightly better.”

He went on: “Well, the situation as of this weekend is that things have eased significantly and the reports that we’re getting back from the front line is that the number of people waiting for too long on trolleys has reduced to a handful now so it’s much, much lower than it was a week earlier.

“This is always the busiest week but we need to work with the public to understand that accident and emergency departments are there for what it says on the tin, for accidents and emergencies.”

Asked what humanitarian crisis means to him, he said: “What it means to me is terrible problems that we see in other parts of the world and independent people are saying that is not an appropriate description.

“What is fair and what we have to deal with is the fact that we had some very serious problems in one or two hospitals and I wouldn’t minimise those at all.”

Dr Holland said: “After waiting for some time to hear what the Health Secretary’s response is to the strain emergency and acute services in the NHS are under, I find myself in disbelief at the comments being made today.

“Healthcare professionals and medical bodies across the country are reporting difficulties from the front line en masse, yet we are faced with dismissal.

“Mr Hunt is completely out of touch if this is what he believes to be an accurate reflection of the current situation.

“It is essential senior healthcare leaders, opposition parties and the health select committee continue to keep the public informed and keep the pressure up to ensure the Government wakes up and realises this situation won’t resolve itself – it is too late for that.”

Nick Hulme, chief executive of Colchester and Ipswich hospital trusts, spoke to the Health Service Journal (HSJ) of current problems in A&E, saying: “It’s unprecedented. I’ve not seen anything like this in 37 years in the health service.

“There is always a hangover from Christmas and New Year but this has been absolutely relentless (in demand and acuity of patients).”

Another senior NHS manager said: “It’s absolutely bloody carnage. I have never seen it this bad.”

Dr Taj Hassan, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who is also associate medical director at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, told the HSJ that A&E departments were failing to turn patients around in enough time and were “at a higher risk of unsafe practices”.

Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth declined to use the term humanitarian crisis, but told Good Morning Britain: “I agree that the NHS is in an absolutely dire situation on its knees.”

What is happening in the NHS?: The ‘humanitarian crisis’ explained

Senior doctors and the Red Cross have warned of a crisis in A&E.

What is happening in A&E departments?

Official data shows that A&E departments are struggling to cope with demand and are continuing to fail to meet the target of dealing with patients within four hours of arrival.

Doctors say this could lead to unsafe practices as departments are overflowing.

Figures out on Friday showed that NHS 111 had its busiest week ever in the week ending January 1, with 457,000 patients calling the helpline.

The number of hospital beds which had to be closed was double that of the previous year owing to levels of norovirus.

Throughout December, A&E departments shut their doors to new patients more than 140 times, a 63% rise on the 88 recorded the previous year.

NHS guidance says such “A&E diverts” should only occur as a last resort and are put in place when A&E departments cannot cope with any more patients.

Last week, it emerged that two patients died on trolleys in Worcestershire Royal Hospital’s A&E department during a period described as extremely busy by the hospital.

Why is the Red Cross involved?

The Red Cross has a history of helping the NHS in times of need, such as transporting patients home from hospital.

But on Friday it warned of a “humanitarian crisis” in the NHS, saying there had been a marked increase in demand for its service and it was working in 20 A&E departments.

Writing in The Times, Mike Adamson, the charity’s chief executive, said the phrase was justified by the scale of the “threat” posed to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

He said: “We see people discharged from hospital to chaotic situations at home, falling and not being found for hours, not being washed because there is no carer to help them.

“These are people in crisis and in recent weeks we have started talking about this as a humanitarian crisis. We don’t say this lightly and we have a duty to say it.”

What do doctors say?

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is warning that A&E departments are unsafe.

Its audit of 60 A&E departments showed that 77.62% of patients were seen within the four-hour target last week – the worst performance in the two years the audit has run.

It said the figures showed an “emergency medicine system in crisis”.

Dr Mark Holland, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, has also warned of a large-scale crisis.

He has said: “We have got to the point where the efforts of staff to prop up the system are no longer enough to keep the system afloat.

“We are asking NHS staff to provide a world-class service, but with third world levels of staffing and third world levels of beds.”

What does the Government say?

Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected claims from the Red Cross that there is a “humanitarian crisis”.

While she acknowledged there were “huge pressures” on the health service, she said the Government had provided the funding requested last year.

Mrs May told Sky News that funding was “now at record levels for the NHS”.

On Monday morning, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said there were problems in some hospitals and urged people not to go to A&E unless there was an emergency.

But he said many people at top of NHS bodies rejected the claim there was a general crisis in A&E departments.

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