Up to 500 people die every week due to lack of care
Dramatic situation in British emergency departments
Associations estimate that between 300 and 500 people die every week in England because they do not receive timely or adequate care in emergencies. These are not temporary difficulties.
1/4
In Great Britain, emergency departments complain of dramatic conditions.
British health associations are sounding the alarm: according to their estimates, 300 to 500 people die every week in Great Britain because they do not receive timely or appropriate treatment in emergencies.
Ian Higginson, vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, confirmed the figures released over the weekend on BBC television on Monday.
Patients die because of political decisions
He rejected the assumption that the difficulties were temporary: “When you’re on site, you know it’s not a short-term problem, it’s a long-term problem.”
According to the report, one in five patients taken by ambulance in England last week took more than an hour to get to the emergency room. Tens of thousands of patients had to wait more than 12 hours to be treated in the emergency department.
Nurses’ federation the British Medical Association joined the alarming reports on Monday. “It’s not true that the country doesn’t have the resources to fix this mess,” said its president, Bill Banfield. “It was a political decision and patients die needlessly because of that decision.” Banfield described the current situation as “unsustainable” and called for “immediate” action by the government.
Sunak wants to solve healthcare system problems
The British government blames the current situation on the effects of the coronavirus and flu waves and has promised hospitals it wants to do more. In his New Year’s greetings, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak mentioned the NHS as one of his priorities.
The free NHS has been hit by severe austerity measures for more than a decade. There have been several strikes recently by health workers, including nursing staff and emergency services. They wanted to increase pressure on the government to raise wages and improve working conditions. The Conservative government has refused to raise wages despite inflation rising to more than 10 percent. (SDA/dzc)
“Friend of animals everywhere. Web guru. Organizer. Food geek. Amateur tv fanatic. Coffee trailblazer. Alcohol junkie.”
More Stories
CHF 6.- Discount – Bern, Thun, Zurich, Winterthur: Australia – Explora Reportage
From Germany: New flights to America and the Pyramids
Heat wave in Australia: high temperatures after winter