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Theresa May Apologizes for Delays in Britain’s Health System Theresa May Apologizes for Delays in Britain’s Health System
(about 11 hours later)
LONDON — A day after denying that the National Health Service was facing a crisis, Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain apologized on Thursday for delays throughout the health care agency as it scrambled to cope with a particularly difficult winter season.LONDON — A day after denying that the National Health Service was facing a crisis, Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain apologized on Thursday for delays throughout the health care agency as it scrambled to cope with a particularly difficult winter season.
“I know it’s difficult, I know it’s frustrating, I know it’s disappointing for people, and I apologize,” she said in a television interview after being asked if she would be happy if a relative were put through the delays that patients were facing.“I know it’s difficult, I know it’s frustrating, I know it’s disappointing for people, and I apologize,” she said in a television interview after being asked if she would be happy if a relative were put through the delays that patients were facing.
A flu outbreak, colder weather and high levels of respiratory illness have put an unusually severe strain on the N.H.S. this winter, forcing the service to postpone thousands of nonurgent surgeries and outpatient appointments in order to free up hospital beds and staff. A flu outbreak, colder weather and high levels of respiratory illness have put an unusually severe strain on the N.H.S. this winter, forcing the service to postpone thousands of nonurgent surgeries and outpatient appointments to free up hospital beds and staff.
And all that comes against a backdrop of years of austerity-driven budget restraints, as well as staffing shortages that many health experts attribute to the anti-immigrant atmosphere fostered by Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, which is driving foreign health care workers back to their home countries.And all that comes against a backdrop of years of austerity-driven budget restraints, as well as staffing shortages that many health experts attribute to the anti-immigrant atmosphere fostered by Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, which is driving foreign health care workers back to their home countries.
In several emergency wards across the country, patients are having to wait more than 12 hours before they are tended to by a health professional. Hospital corridors are brimming with patients waiting for wards to be freed up, and nonurgent cases are being referred to pharmacies or general practitioners.In several emergency wards across the country, patients are having to wait more than 12 hours before they are tended to by a health professional. Hospital corridors are brimming with patients waiting for wards to be freed up, and nonurgent cases are being referred to pharmacies or general practitioners.
Over Christmas week, more than 4,700 people were stuck in ambulances for more than an hour while they waited for space in hospital wards, news agencies reported. Christmas week, over 4,700 people were stuck in ambulances for more than an hour while they waited for space in hospital wards, news agencies reported.
On Wednesday, Mrs. May denied that there was a crisis and said that the N.H.S. was better prepared for winter than “ever before,” adding that extra funding had been infused to meet the higher demands of the winter season. But the $2.2 billion increase she referred to fell far short of the $5.4 billion that Simon Stevens, the chief executive of the service, requested from the government last year. On Wednesday, Mrs. May denied that there was a crisis and said that the N.H.S. was better prepared for winter than “ever before,” adding that extra funding had been infused to meet the higher demands of the winter. But the $2.2 billion increase she referred to fell far short of the $5.4 billion that Simon Stevens, the chief executive of the service, requested last year.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, said that Mrs. May’s apology was not good enough and blamed her Conservative Party for the current crisis. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, said Mrs. May’s apology was not good enough and blamed her Conservative Party for the crisis. “Nurses, doctors and patients are pleading with her to properly fund our health service, but she is ignoring them,” he tweeted on Thursday.
“Nurses, doctors and patients are pleading with her to properly fund our health service, but she is ignoring them,” he tweeted on Thursday. He told the House of Commons last month that hospitals’ four-hour waiting time targets had not been met for over two years.
He told the House of Commons last month that the four-hour waiting time targets in hospitals had not been met for the past two and a half years. The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, also apologized to patients facing delays. “It is absolutely not what I want,” he said. “There are real pressures, no doubt about it. This is the busiest week of the year for the N.H.S.”
The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, also apologized to patients facing delays as a result of winter pressures. “It is absolutely not what I want,” he said on Wednesday. “There are real pressures, no doubt about it. This is the busiest week of the year for the N.H.S.”