‘Everything possible’ is being done by ministers to increase hospital bed capacity amid growing NHS pressures, No 10 says
The government is doing “everything possible” to increase the number of hospital beds available, Downing Street has said, as winter pressures continue to bite.
Concerns are mounting about the current state of public healthcare, with well over a dozen NHS trusts and ambulance services having declared critical incidents over the festive period.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has accused the government’s “political choices” of leading to patients “dying unnecessarily”.
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Issuing a stark warning, Professor Phil Banfield, chairman of the BMA council, said in a statement: “The current situation in the NHS is intolerable and unsustainable, both for our patients and the hard-working staff desperately trying to keep up with incredibly high levels of demand.
“The BMA has repeatedly invited the government to sit down and talk about the pressures on our health service, but their silence is deafening.
“It is disingenuous for the prime minister to talk about ‘backing the NHS’ in his New Year message, when his own health secretary is failing to discuss how this crisis can be fixed.”
Professor Banfield also called on the government to “step up and take immediate action” to solve the crisis.
“The government should deliver on its obligations to the public. It is just not true that the cost of resolving this mess cannot be afforded by this country,” he said.
“This is a political choice and patients are dying unnecessarily because of that choice.”
But the PM’s official spokesman said on Tuesday that ministers had been “up front” with the public about the pressures the NHS would face this winter, partly due to the backlog created by the pandemic.
He also acknowledged that the current pressure on the health service was an “unprecedented challenge”.
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NHS winter pressure explained
The spokesman told reporters: “I think we have been up front with the public long in advance of this winter that because of the pandemic and the pressures it’s placed in the backlog of cases that this would be an extremely challenging winter, and that is what we are seeing.”
He continued: “The NHS is already maximising its number of beds, so the equivalent of 7,000 additional beds, plus funding for discharges and increasing virtual wards. That’s all to free up capacity.
“Again, that’s all thanks to the extra funding, the billions of extra pounds we’ve put in.
“We are doing everything possible to increase the number of beds.”
Opposition parties have criticised the government for inaction over recent days, with the Liberal Democrats calling for parliament to be recalled to discuss the situation.
Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting accused the Conservatives of “mismanagement” of the NHS.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Streeting said it was “inexplicable” that neither Rishi Sunak nor any of his ministers had offered solutions to the pressures hospitals are facing.
However, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride insisted the government had “prioritised” the NHS, putting in more funding over the next three years and increasing staffing numbers.
He avoided accepting the term “crisis” for the state of the health service currently, telling reporters: “I do accept that we need to make progress. Whatever one terms it, we obviously want to be in a better position than we are at the moment.”
The president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Adrian Boyle, said yesterday that A&E delays could be causing 500 deaths a week.
Asked about the remarks and whether the government had “blood on its hands”, Mr Stride said “I certainly wouldn’t term it that way at all”, saying the figures from Dr Boyle should be looked at “with caution”.
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Doctor describes ‘bleak’ NHS
Meanwhile, continuing to be probed on the NHS, Mr Sunak’s spokesperson said the PM’s own healthcare arrangements are not in the public interest.
Mr Sunak has previously refused to say if he has private healthcare.
The PM’s spokesperson added that it was “wholly wrong” to suggest that Mr Sunak was not aware of the challenges facing the health service.
Criminals who refuse to attend their sentencing hearings will face further punishment under a new law.
The government is introducing the Victims and Courts Bill to parliament today, which will include more jail time or loss of privileges in prison in England and Wales for criminals who refuse to attend court for sentencing.
Several high-profile offenders have refused to face victims’ families, sparking a public outcry and calls for a change in the law.
The families of murdered primary school teacher Sabina Nessa, law graduate Zara Aleena and mother-of-three Jan Mustafa have all campaigned for the change after their killers were absent from sentencing hearings.
Ms Nessa’s sister, Jebina Islam, Ms Aleena’s aunt, Farah Naz, and Ms Mustafa’s cousin, Ayse Hussein, said: “This move holds offenders to account.
“It sends a clear and necessary message: the justice system is not something you should be able to opt out of.
“It is not about punishment through force – but about ensuring that perpetrators cannot remove themselves from the consequences of their actions.”
Teacher Sabina Nessa was killed by Koci Selamaj in 2021 after he drove to London to assault a stranger
They said the legislation is a “step in the right direction” and the proposed punishments indicate it is “being taken seriously”.
The trio added: “This change supports victims and society alike. It shows justice being done.
“It gives families a moment of recognition and a form of reparation. It is a moment of reckoning for the convicted.”
Under the new legislation, judges will be able to sentence offenders for up to two more years in prison for avoiding justice.
Those already facing lengthy imprisonment or whole life orders could have a range of prison punishments, such as confinement to their cells and being stripped of privileges, such as extra gym time.
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Former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak had pledged to change the law after meeting the mother of murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, and Sir Keir Starmer promised to enact it.
Olivia Pratt-Korbel was killed by Thomas Cashman, who refused to attend his sentencing hearing in 2023
Thomas Cashman, the gunman who killed Olivia as he chased a drug dealer who had run into her Liverpool home, did not appear in court to hear his life sentence in April 2023.
Earlier this year, triple crossbow and knife killer Kyle Clifford refused to attend his sentencing when he received a whole life order.
Southport child murderer Axel Rudakubana was removed from his sentencing hearing for repeatedly shouting in January.
Teacher Sabina Nessa was killed by Koci Selamaj in 2021 after he drove to London to assault a stranger
Zara Aleena was killed by Jordan McSweeney, who should have been recalled to prison at the time. Pic: PA
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said: “I would like to thank the remarkable families of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Jan Mustafa, Sabina Nessa and Zara Aleena and countless others who have campaigned tirelessly for offenders to have to face the reality of their crimes by attending their sentencing.
“Justice isn’t optional – we’ll make sure criminals face their victims.”
The bill also says it will restrict parental responsibility from child sex offenders who commit serious crimes against their own children.
The powers of the Victims’ Commissioner will also be strengthened to require them to produce an independent report on whether agencies are meeting their statutory duty over the Victim’s Code to hold the government to account.
Child protection charity the NSPCC backed the move, saying they hope it will improve how young victims and survivors are treated, but said it was “not a complete solution”.
Eighteen-year-olds will be allowed to drive trains due to concerns over labour shortages, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.
The current minimum age for someone wanting a career on the railways is 20.
But with 87% of night-before cancellations made because a driver is unavailable, the government has decided to lower the age of entry by a couple of years.
Several operators rely on drivers to work extra shifts voluntarily.
At present, the average age of a British train driver is 48, while 30% are due to reach retirement age by 2029.
A consultation on lowering the minimum age for drivers, carried out last year by the Conservative government, received “overwhelming support from across the industry”, the DfT said.
Other nations which have lowered the age for train drivers are France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, officials added.
Transport for London opened driver apprenticeships on the Underground to 18-year-olds in 2007.
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Training to drive mainline trains generally takes between one and two years.
Assessment and qualification standards will be unchanged.
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Industry body the Rail Safety and Standards Board said its research had shown 18-year-olds are “capable of safely becoming train drivers”.
New job and apprenticeship opportunities could be available as early as December, the DfT said.
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, said the government was “future-proofing” the railways against “delays and cancellations caused by a shortage of drivers”.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “At the moment, young people who want to become train drivers leave school or college at 18, get other jobs, and we miss out as an industry as they don’t wait around until they turn 20 to find a career.”
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