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