Declare a humanitarian crisis in the NHS
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister Mark Drakeford and Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health in Northern Ireland Peter May
We are calling on the leaders of all four UK nations to declare a humanitarian crisis in the NHS.
In January 2017, the Chief Executive of the British Red Cross described the situation in the NHS during winter pressures as a humanitarian crisis. We are now witnessing a wholesale collapse of our NHS and social care system, with millions of people on waiting lists and hundreds of people dying needlessly every single week.
Given this loss of human life, the leaders of all nations must declare this a humanitarian crisis. With every day they fail to act, more people are needlessly dying.
We're so pleased to have the support of NHS Workers Say No, 99%, Reclaim the NHS and the Plaid Cymru MPs Ben Lake, Liz Saville-Roberts and Hywel Williams. We're contacting other organisations and members of the devolved parliaments to join us too. We need as many signatories as possible, please add your name now.
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To:
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister Mark Drakeford and Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health in Northern Ireland Peter May
From:
[Your Name]
We are calling on the leaders of all four UK nations to declare a humanitarian crisis in the NHS.
In January 2017, the Chief Executive of the British Red Cross described the situation in the NHS during winter pressures as a humanitarian crisis. Since this time conditions in the health service have worsened significantly. [1] The current situation is being blamed on high numbers of Covid and Flu [2] but healthcare leaders and frontline staff have been predicting this situation for years. Incredibly, these warnings have been ignored.
We are now witnessing a wholesale collapse of our NHS and social care system, with millions of people on waiting lists and hundreds of people dying needlessly every single week. [3]
Given this loss of human life, there is an urgent need for all governments to acknowledge the severity of the situation.
As the leaders of our four UK nations, will you declare this a humanitarian crisis, and immediately propose solutions to tackle inadequate funding, staffing, beds and social care.
With every day you fail to act more people are needlessly dying. Please, declare a humanitarian crisis now.
[1]
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/ambulance-quality-indicators-data-2022-23/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/01/nhs-vacancies-in-england-at-staggering-new-high-as-almost-10-of-posts-empty
https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-performs-weekly-update-of-emergency-department-activity-and-waiting-time-statistics/nhs-performs-weekly-update-of-emergency-department-activity-and-waiting-time-statistics-week-ending-25-december-2022/
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23218643.ambulance-waits-urgent-calls-rise-christmas/
https://online.hscni.net/our-work/service-pressures/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/13/hospital-beds-england-occupied-patients-fit-discharge
[2]
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/6january2023
https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p40
[3]
https://news.sky.com/story/nhs-waiting-list-hits-record-high-of-7-2-million-people-as-almost-third-of-patients-wait-four-hours-in-a-e-12763943
https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/clinical-areas/respiratory/deaths-in-england-and-wales-20-higher-than-normal-for-time-of-year/