Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is seeking to break the deadlock over pay rise rows behind a wave of strikes
(Picture: PA Wire)Rishi Sunak was urged on Monday by a senior A&E doctor to accept the NHS is in “crisis”.
The Prime Minister declined several times on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg to acknowledge that the health service was in such a dire state with casualty departments overwhelmed and ambulances queuing outside many hospitals.
Instead, he said: “The NHS is undeniably under enormous pressure.”
But Dr Rob Galloway, an emergency medicine consultant at the Brighton and Sussex University NHS Trust, tweeted: “My response to Rishi’s “response” to the NHS crisis.
“The first step is to accept it’s not just busy or under pressure but it’s a crisis.”
More than 1,800 ambulances in the capital faced a delay of over 60 minutes when handing over a patient to A&E in the week up to January 1.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, has suggested that between 300 and 500 people are dying across the country as a consequence of delays and problems with urgent and emergency care each week.
Other NHS chiefs have challenged these figures but not provided any of their own.
The health service is struggling to cope with more than seven million people on waiting lists, a Covid and flu “twindemic”, as well as staffing shortages and strikes.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay was due to meet union leaders on Monday to try to break the deadlock over pay rises for nurses and paramedics.
Rail minister Huw Merriman was also set to hold discussions with the RMT and train drivers’ union Aslef, with education ministers expected to have talks with teacher unions.
Ahead of the meetings, Mr Sunak said he hoped the wave of industrial unrest can be resolved in a "responsible and reasonable way".
Writing on the ConservativeHome website, the Prime Minister said: "Today, ministers from across government will be meeting with the unions to set out how we can resolve these disputes in a responsible and reasonable way.
"I accept the freedom of individuals to strike, but this must be balanced with the rights of everyone else to safely go about their lives.
"That's why we introduced new laws - in common with countries such as France, Italy and Spain - to ensure we have minimum levels of safety in critical areas like our ambulance and fire services."
But hopes of any significant progress to end the wave of strikes which have hit Britain remained low, despite suggestions that health workers could be offered a one-off payment for this year, ahead of negotiations on pay for 2023/24.
Patricia Marquis, director for England at the Royal College of Nursing, told Times Radio: “Today’s conversation is with all of the unions, and, as far as we can tell, is actually about pay going forward - so the year ‘23/24, not the current year, which is the dispute that we’re in.”
Asked about the prospect of a one-off payment, she said: “I don’t think we’ve had any firm commentary or offer or conversation from the Government directly around this.
“If there are opportunities to discuss any sort of options that the Government is willing to put on the table then we will be there at that meeting.
“But until we have anything firm and concrete to be able to discuss with them, and a meeting in the diary, and, when we’re at that meeting, a willingness to actually talk about the here and now, then I’m not overly optimistic.”
She believes it is “unlikely” that more nurses’ strikes, on January 18 and 19, will be called off.
Asked if it was not even 50-50 at the moment, she told Sky News: “I don’t think it is 50-50, but there is some hope and we maintain that hope.”
Mr Barclay was said to be “looking forward to having an honest and constructive conversation with union representatives ahead of the pay review process for the coming financial year”.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The most important thing for passengers, businesses and future of our rail industry, is for unions to put an end to these disruptive strikes.
“The rail minister will approach these latest talks as we have done since the start of this damaging industrial action - by working to facilitate reasoned, constructive discussions aimed at finding a swift resolution.”
