Thousands more hospital beds and 800 new ambulances promised amid plan to ‘fix’ emergency care | Politics News

The government has pledged to add thousands of new hospital beds and 800 new ambulances as part of a plan to “fix” urgent care as the NHS continues to face severe pressure.

Rishi Sunak described the proposals, which ministers hope will boost strained urgent care in the NHS, as “ambitious and credible”.

Revealing the two-year plan, NHS and the government say 800 new ambulances, including 100 dedicated to mental health and 5,000 more sustainable hospital beds will be supported by a dedicated £1 billion fund.

The amount for this was announced in the fall report.

A key part of the plan is to expand urgent care in the community to keep people away from hospitals and get them treated at home instead.

As part of this commitment, day urgent care units, staffed by consultants and nurses, will open in every hospital with a primary A&E department.

There are also plans to pilot new approaches to NHS palliative care, with patients receiving rehabilitation and physiotherapy at home in some cases.

But Labor accused the government of “lowering standards for patients”.

At the start of the new year, the prime minister made NHS wait times one of his five priorities.

Announcing the latest urgent care plan, he said: “Urgent and urgent care is facing serious challenges but we have an ambitious and credible plan to overcome it. .”

“It will take time to get there but our plan will cut long wait times by increasing the number of ambulances, staff and hospital beds – preventing congestion outside A&E and ensuring patients Patients were examined and discharged quickly.

“If we achieve this ambition, it would represent one of the fastest and longest lasting improvements in emergency wait times in NHS history.”

Health Minister Steve Barclay added: “Today’s plan, backed by a record investment, is aimed at rapidly cutting wait times, helping to fulfill one of the government’s five priorities, while giving patients belief that health and social services will always be there to serve them when they need them.”

Suggestions also include:

• The creation of virtual wards to monitor patients being treated at home while being monitored by doctors through daily visits or video calls

• Plans to make it easier for NHS staff to move between hospitals and work in services like 111

• Added option for call handlers to work from home

• Efforts to expand the number of emergency medical technicians

• Increase the use of students and medical trainees

• Training more staff on mental health

The Department of Health said this weekend that 3,000 “home hospital” beds will be created before next winter.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said “patients will wait longer than is safe” as planned.

He said: “13 years of mismanagement by the NHS has left patients waiting for an ambulance or A&E longer than ever before.

“Now Rishi Sunak is lowering the bar for patients. Even if the NHS hits its target, patients will have to wait longer than is safe.

“Expecting the Conservatives to fix the crisis in the NHS is like expecting an arsonist to put out the fire they’ve started, it’s not going to happen.

“Only Labor can be trusted to deliver the investment and reforms needed to treat patients in time to return. We will train 7,500 more doctors and 10,000 nurses a year, paid by how to abolish non-domestic regimes.”

Ministers want to ensure that 76% of emergency and emergency patients are seen within four hours before next March, while second class ambulance response times – such as suspected stroke, pain heart attacks, burns and seizures – reaching an average of 30 minutes over the next year.

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard described the scheme as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put the NHS on a sustainable foundation”.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, called it an “important road map”, but warned: “Success over the next two years will not depend solely on NHS staff continuing to give their best. but also into concerted action to reduce the number of people who need to be exposed to emergency services and urgent care in the first place.”

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The plan comes as Mr Sunak’s government is embroiled in a bitter and ongoing dispute with nurses and ambulance workers over pay and conditions, with further repeal planned in February. .

NHS leaders are making contingency plans with The largest walk in the history of the health service looms.

Ambulance staff and nurses are all ready to continue beat on February 6th – first industrial action was taken on the same day.

In the first day of this month, Mr Barclay seems to rule out a 10% raise for nursesasserted that the move was “unaffordable”.