Monday 28 October 2024
The government’s pre-budget health funding announcement offers little reassurance to Emergency Clinicians or their patients’ ahead of what could be ‘most challenging winter’ yet.
This is the response from The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) as the Chancellor and Health Secretary lay out plans to inject millions of pounds into the NHS to reduce waiting lists, but the pre-budget announcement did not include any allocation for Urgent and Emergency Care.
Ahead of the budget on Wednesday, Rachel Reeves MP and Wes Streeting MP have pledged £1.5 billion for new surgical hubs and scanners, alongside £70 million for new radiotherapy machines.
Responding Dr Ian Higginson, Vice President of RCEM said: “The announcement of funding to help patients with longer term health conditions is of course welcome. But this is only half the story. There is little to reassure our members and our patients who are facing what could be the most challenging winter yet with many Emergency Departments already bursting at the seams.
“There is no mention of short or long-term measures to ease the current unacceptable situation in our A&Es which sees vulnerable patients forced to endure extremely long waits often on trolleys in corridors. These waits are associated with hundreds of excess deaths every week. That will continue to happen if nothing changes.
“This government was elected in July, which should have been ample time to at least start to put in place measures and funding to help reduce these avoidable deaths. So far we have seen words, and apparent acceptance of the status quo. We have not seen action. It remains to be seen whether there will be anything for urgent and emergency care, and social care, in the budget on Wednesday.
“We have never advocated for short-term cash injections, but in the absence of both that and long-term plans, we worry that hospitals with have little headroom to cope.
“To talk about prioritising patient safety while allowing dangerous and degrading ‘corridor care’ to continue does not make any sense. Ending this shameful situation must be the priority right now.”
