Nurses across the UK have declared a “national emergency” within the NHS today, citing severe conditions that have led to patients “dying in corridors.” The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) issued the warning, highlighting a critical shortage of staff and resources that is straining hospitals to a breaking point.
In response to the alarming declaration, Cabinet Minister Kemi Badenoch described the situation as “appalling” but defended the government’s record on NHS funding. “We have put more money into the NHS than ever before,” Badenoch stated. “This is one of the areas where we have been talking about ensuring that the NHS is delivering more for people, given how much that we have been putting into it.”
Badenoch expressed the government’s intent to address the issues highlighted by the RCN, noting that the Health Secretary has been outlining plans to resolve the crisis. “Of course, the scenario that the Royal College of Nursing is describing is not something that we ever want to see,” she said.
Pressed for specifics on the government’s strategy, Badenoch emphasised to Sky News ongoing efforts to reach a pay settlement with junior doctors to curb industrial action and reduce waiting lists. Additionally, she mentioned the commencement of a program to build new hospitals, aiming to bolster the NHS infrastructure.
“There has never been a time when there haven’t been issues with the NHS,” Badenoch acknowledged, but reiterated the Conservative Party’s commitment to funding the service and rejecting privatisation accusations. “We value them, and we understand how hard they’re working,” she affirmed, while also noting that strikes had “an impact on patients.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration has been striving to address long-term staffing challenges in the NHS rather than relying on short-term fixes, Badenoch claimed. The Conservative Party has pledged to construct 100 new GP surgeries and modernise another 150 if they win the upcoming election.
However, when questioned about the credibility of this pledge, given that independent assessments suggest they will not meet their previous election promise to build 40 new hospitals, Badenoch cited the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Because of COVID, we ended up spending far more on the NHS than anybody would ever have expected, and that was to protect people’s health all around the country,” she explained.
