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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Shanti Das and Jon Ungoed-Thomas

Revealed: NHS planning to draft thousands of volunteers as it faces winter crisis

Ambulances outside a hospital in London. According to data from NHS England on 10 November, waiting times in A&E for treatment was longer than 12 hours in October, up over 30% on the month before.
Ambulances outside a hospital in London. According to data from NHS England on 10 November, waiting times in A&E for treatment was longer than 12 hours in October, up over 30% on the month before. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Health officials are drawing up plans to draft in thousands of extra volunteers to help the NHS cope with ambulance delays and hospital pressures this winter, according to a leaked document that lays bare the scale of the crisis in Britain’s healthcare system.

NHS performance is “highly likely to deteriorate further” under increased winter demand and industrial action, reveals the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) briefing seen by the Observer.

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