Tuesday 17 September 2024
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has welcomed the Liberal Democrats’ call to ‘make the NHS winterproof’ as the colder months loom.
At his party’s conference this afternoon (Tuesday 17 September), Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey urged the government to ‘make this year the last winter crisis in our NHS’.
The party wants the government to introduce a ‘Winter NHS Taskforce’ that would manage a ringfenced fund of £1.5 billion over the next four years to build resilience across the hospitals, including A&E departments.
RCEM Vice President Dr Salwa Malik, who is attending the conference on behalf of the College’s members and who listened to Sir Ed Davey’s speech said: “The Liberal Democrats must be applauded for their commitment to addressing what has become the seemingly inevitable winter crises experienced in Emergency Departments across the country.
“We know our A&Es will experience an annual winter spike in demand. However, they have faced significant pressures over the summer months, with no respite in the demands placed on them. It really is a matter of 50 shades of crisis.
“We urge the new government to listen to what has been suggested and to give similar focus to where the danger lies this winter – in the shameful situation of corridor care and waits of 12 hours or more which are linked to thousands of excess, avoidable deaths each year.”
It comes as NHSE publishes its ‘Corridor Care’ and Winter guidance for this year.
