Ashworth: Red Cross revelations show NHS is being pushed to breaking point

This is the full statement published by shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth after the Red Cross was called in to help at British hospitals.

“The Red Cross being called in to help in our hospitals is just the latest staggering example of how the NHS is now being pushed to breaking point. For the Red Cross to brand the situation a ‘humanitarian crisis’ should be a badge of shame for government ministers.

“This winter we are seeing a third of hospitals reporting they need urgent help to cope with the numbers of patients coming through the doors, A&Es have had to turn patients away more than 140 times in December because they couldn’t cope and several hospitals have admitted they couldn’t offer patients comprehensive care. More patients are languishing on trolleys and in ambulance queues. Meanwhile hospitals have been desperately pleading on Twitter for patients to stay away from A&E.

“The stark reality is the NHS is facing a crisis this winter and in need of urgent help from Ministers. It’s time Theresa May urgently faced up to her responsibilities and abandoned her policy of systematically underfunding our NHS.”