A&E must change or face collapse – Media roundup: May 15th, 2013

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A&E must change or face collapse

“Urgent changes must be made to the way A&E units are run – or the system could collapse, doctors and managers say. Both the College of Emergency Medicine and Foundation Trust Network have put forward proposals to overhaul the system. Funding, staffing and better non-emergency services have been highlighted as key issues. It comes as fears grow over whether the NHS can continue to cope with rising demand. Last week both ministers and the NHS regulator admitted the problems were a cause for concern. A&E attendances have risen by 50% in a decade and this winter the NHS in England started missing its four-hour waiting time target. Reports have even emerged of hospitals setting up temporary waiting areas in car parks and storerooms to cope with queues, while ambulances have been forced to wait to drop off patients.” – BBC

Toni and Guy tycoon makes Labour donation – but party overdraft is a worry

“The co-founder of Toni & Guy, the hairdressing chain, has donated £50,000 to Labour as the party attempts to make itself less reliant on trade union funding. Toni Mascolo, 71, said he had decided to make his first political contribution after meeting the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, last year. The home shopping magnate John Mills gave the party £1.6 million in shares in his company JML, which will pay monthly dividends…Mr Mascolo, who grew up near Naples, Italy, and opened his first salon with his brother Guy in Clapham, South London, in 1963, said he backed Mr Miliband’s focus on training and apprenticeships for young people.” – The Times(£)

“Labour is facing a new financial crisis after it emerged that the party depends on a massive overdraft from the troubled Co-operative Bank. The party relies on a £3.9 million lifeline from the ailing lender, which could be cut as part of the overhaul or sale of the bank. The party has been kept afloat by a series of overdrafts on unusually generous terms from the bank, which has strong links to the party dating back to 1927. Some of the financing used today relies on loan facilities agreed in 1999, which are so advantageous to the party that they would not be available elsewhere. The overdraft facilities have routinely been expanded in the run-up to an election.” – The Times(£)

Minister accused of lying to justify rail sell-off

“Tory Simon Burns was yesterday accused by unions of misleading MPs to justify plans to privatise the East Coast Main Line. The Rail Minister has told the Transport Select Committee the eastern route earns the Treasury less than the West Coast Main Line but RMT boss Bob Crow claimed he was “lying through his back teeth”. Research found Virgin Trains, which operates West Coast services, paid £282million in premiums from 2009 to 2012, while East Coast – run by the Department for Transport – paid £411million for the east route.” – Daily Mirror

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