Streeting expresses shame over NHS winter issues

Health Secretary Expresses Shame Over NHS Winter Challenges

Streeting says he is ashamed of NHS winter problems. Getty Images The health secretary has said some patients' experience of the NHS this winter makes him feel "ashamed". Wes Streeting said he had seen patients left crying and distressed and stuck in corridors, as hospitals struggle to cope. It comes as a number of NHS trusts declare critical incidents due to exceptionally high demand in A&E. NHS sources told BBC News about a dozen hospitals in England had declared major incidents, at one point on Tuesday. Patients at one, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, were facing waits of up to 50 hours in the accident and emergency unit, as bosses warned rising numbers of flu cases and other respiratory illnesses had left them "extremely busy".

Challenging Conditions

Streeting told LBC he had seen A&E patients confused and crying out in distress, while others had been being treated in corridors, during a recent hospital visit. "When I went in, they said, 'You are here on a fairly good day - it's not too bad today,'" he said. "And as I walked around these conditions, I was looking around thinking, 'This is a good day?"' Streeting promised to do "everything I can" to "make sure that year-on-year, we see consistent improvement". It would "take time" - but the government would publish an urgent and emergency reform plan "shortly".

Urgent Reforms Needed

"In the meantime, I feel genuinely distressed and ashamed, actually, of some of the things that patients are experiencing and I know that the staff of the NHS and social-care services feel the same - they go to work, they slog their guts out, and it's very distressing for them, seeing people in this condition, as well," Streeting said. He said he had also seen ambulance crews taking dying patients into hospital because there was no end-of-life care available for them in the community. "It breaks my heart," Streeting added.

Escalating Challenges

Critical incidents were also declared in the East Midlands, Birmingham, Devon, Cornwall, Northamptonshire and Hampshire. The East Midlands Ambulance Service - which covers Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire - declared the first critical incident in its history due to a combination of "significant patient demand, pressure within hospitals and flooding". Health bosses have asked people suffering from flu, Covid, norovirus or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to stay away from the Royal Cornwall Hospital's A&E department in Truro.

Conclusion

The challenges faced by the NHS this winter have highlighted the strain on the healthcare system. Urgent reforms and increased support are needed to ensure the well-being of both patients and healthcare workers.