{"id":2908,"date":"2023-01-07T16:32:39","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T16:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=2908"},"modified":"2023-01-07T16:32:39","modified_gmt":"2023-01-07T16:32:39","slug":"uk-leader-sunak-calls-crisis-meeting-over-deteriorating-health-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/magazine\/health-and-lifestyle\/uk-leader-sunak-calls-crisis-meeting-over-deteriorating-health-system\/2023\/01\/07\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"UK leader Sunak calls crisis meeting over deteriorating health system"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON<\/span> (AP)<\/span> \u2014<\/span> British<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Rishi<\/span> Sunak<\/span> gathered<\/span> government<\/span> ministers,<\/span> medics<\/span> and<\/span> health<\/span> service<\/span> managers<\/span> in<\/span> 10<\/span> Downing<\/span> St.<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday<\/span> for<\/span> talks<\/span> aimed<\/span> at<\/span> fixing<\/span> a<\/span> health<\/span> care<\/span> crisis<\/span> that<\/span> has<\/span> seen<\/span> thousands<\/span> of<\/span> patients<\/span> stranded<\/span> outside<\/span> overflowing<\/span> hospitals.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> government<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> \u201cbringing<\/span> together<\/span> the<\/span> best<\/span> minds<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> health<\/span> and<\/span> care<\/span> sectors<\/span> to<\/span> help<\/span> share<\/span> knowledge<\/span> and<\/span> practical<\/span> solutions.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> opposition<\/span> Labour<\/span> Party<\/span> dismissed<\/span> the<\/span> gathering<\/span> as<\/span> \u201ca<\/span> talking<\/span> shop,\u201d<\/span> and<\/span> experts<\/span> warned<\/span> there<\/span> are<\/span> no<\/span> quick<\/span> fixes<\/span> for<\/span> long-brewing<\/span> problems<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> state-funded<\/span> National<\/span> Health<\/span> Service.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Thousands<\/span> of<\/span> hospital<\/span> beds<\/span> are<\/span> occupied<\/span> by<\/span> people<\/span> who<\/span> are<\/span> fit<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> discharged<\/span> but<\/span> have<\/span> nowhere<\/span> to<\/span> go<\/span> because<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> dearth<\/span> of<\/span> places<\/span> for<\/span> long-term<\/span> care.<\/span> Official<\/span> figures<\/span> show<\/span> that<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> only<\/span> a<\/span> third<\/span> of<\/span> patients<\/span> ready<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> released<\/span> from<\/span> a<\/span> hospital<\/span> in<\/span> England<\/span> actually<\/span> left.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>That<\/span> has<\/span> led<\/span> to<\/span> ambulances<\/span> stuck<\/span> outside<\/span> hospitals<\/span> with<\/span> patients<\/span> who<\/span> can’t<\/span> be<\/span> admitted,<\/span> and<\/span> in<\/span> turn<\/span> to<\/span> people<\/span> with<\/span> health<\/span> emergencies<\/span> waiting<\/span> hours<\/span> for<\/span> ambulances<\/span> to<\/span> arrive.<\/span> Health<\/span> leaders<\/span> say<\/span> the<\/span> delay<\/span> likely<\/span> caused<\/span> hundreds<\/span> of<\/span> deaths.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> pressure<\/span> has<\/span> renewed<\/span> long-standing<\/span> debates<\/span> over<\/span> NHS<\/span> funding<\/span> and<\/span> operations.<\/span> The<\/span> NHS<\/span> was<\/span> founded<\/span> in<\/span> 1948<\/span> to<\/span> provide<\/span> free<\/span> care<\/span> for<\/span> all<\/span> and<\/span> is<\/span> tax-funded.<\/span> As<\/span> in<\/span> other<\/span> developed<\/span> countries,<\/span> rising<\/span> life<\/span> expectancy<\/span> and<\/span> an<\/span> aging<\/span> population<\/span> are<\/span> increasing<\/span> demand<\/span> for<\/span> beloved<\/span> services,<\/span> but<\/span> are<\/span> constantly<\/span> being<\/span> overwhelmed.<\/span> Her<\/span> NHS<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> UK<\/span> has<\/span> long<\/span> had<\/span> political<\/span> troubles.<\/span> Opposition<\/span> politicians<\/span> have<\/span> accused<\/span> the<\/span> Conservative<\/span> Party,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> in<\/span> power<\/span> since<\/span> 2010,<\/span> of<\/span> consistently<\/span> underfunding<\/span> and<\/span> covert<\/span> privatization<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> health<\/span> care<\/span> system.<\/span> “This<\/span> crisis<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> unfolding<\/span> for<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> a<\/span> decade,”<\/span> said<\/span> Matthew<\/span> Taylor,<\/span> chief<\/span> executive<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> NHS<\/span> Confederation,<\/span> the<\/span> governing<\/span> body<\/span> for<\/span> healthcare.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> government<\/span> says<\/span> health<\/span> care<\/span> costs<\/span> will<\/span> continue<\/span> to<\/span> rise<\/span> in<\/span> real<\/span> terms.<\/span> Public<\/span> sector<\/span> workers<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> offered<\/span> pay<\/span> increases,<\/span> but<\/span> said<\/span> they<\/span> could<\/span> not<\/span> afford<\/span> to<\/span> grant<\/span> them<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> up<\/span> with<\/span> inflation<\/span> that<\/span> reached<\/span> 11.1%<\/span> in<\/span> October.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Major<\/span> health<\/span> unions<\/span> are<\/span> due<\/span> to<\/span> meet<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> on<\/span> Monday<\/span> to<\/span> end<\/span> the<\/span> strike.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> UK<\/span> is<\/span> not<\/span> the<\/span> only<\/span> country<\/span> in<\/span> Europe<\/span> struggling<\/span> to<\/span> secure<\/span> healthcare.<\/span> French<\/span> President<\/span> Emmanuel<\/span> Macron<\/span> on<\/span> Friday<\/span> announced<\/span> plans<\/span> to<\/span> overhaul<\/span> France’s<\/span> ailing<\/span> healthcare<\/span> system.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LONDON (AP) \u2014 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gathered government ministers, medics and health service managers in 10 Downing St. on Saturday for talks aimed at fixing a health care crisis that has seen thousands of patients stranded outside overflowing hospitals. The government said it was \u201cbringing together the best minds from the health and […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[562],"tags":[282,285,565,688,689],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/XPRNYIEBHJKIJAFJJHM7YWWCUQ.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2910,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908\/revisions\/2910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}