Jeremy Corbyn demands Theresa May comes to the Commons to set out plans to resolve 'humanitarian crisis'

LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn has demanded Theresa May appears before parliament on Monday to face questions over "her failure on the NHS".

It comes after England’s top emergency doctor admitted yesterday the health service is “on its knees” as winter pressures mount.


Dr Mike Adamson, head of the British Red Cross, spoke as it emerged A&E medics struggled through their worst ever week, having to shut their doors a record number of times.

Two patients died in one hospital waiting in its corridors, one from a heart attack and the other from an aneurysm.

At least seven trusts issued Twitter pleas to stay away unless facing a real emergency — and the British Red Cross sent in ambulances while warning of a “humanitarian crisis”.



‘Wards are under intense pressure’

PATIENTS fear an overcrowded hospital is in meltdown after two died in corridors this week.

One woman, left on a trolley for 35 hours, died of a heart attack and a man had a fatal aneurysm.

Another patient hanged himself at Worcester Royal Hospital.

One patient said: “It’s hell.”

The hospital admitted it was under “intense pressure”.

Shock figures showed casualty units turned away patients 42 times, sending them to neighbouring hospitals.

The number is more than double the same period last year, and up on the previous high of 39.

In a Labour Party statement, Corbyn said the state of the NHS is a "national scandal", describing the "crisis" as "unprecedented".

"People are lying on trolleys in corridors waiting to be seen", he continued.

"Hospitals have had to close their doors, unable to admit patients.

"The health service is at breaking point. But this crisis is not due to an outbreak of disease.

"It is a crisis made in Downing Street by this government – a crisis we warned them about."

But ex-doctor and Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the Health Select Committee, slammed the comparison to global disaster zones.

"There is a crisis in social care provision but the term 'humanitarian crisis' is too strong", she said.

"This is not equivalent to Syria or Yemen."

Meanwhile data from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine showed just 77.6 per cent of patients were treated within four hours — the lowest since records began in 2004, and falling way short of the 95 per cent target.

RCEM president Dr Taj Hassan said: “The scale of the crisis has reached new heights. The emergency care system is on its knees, despite the huge efforts of staff.”

He blamed a lack of A&E casualty medics, plus social care cuts for fuelling bed-blocking.

Trusts in Mid Essex, Ipswich, North Cumbria, Kingston, Bristol, Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were among those asking patients to stay away.

The scale of the crisis has reached new heights. The emergency care system is on its knees, despite the huge efforts of staff

Fifty trusts, one in three, were placed on alert last month as they struggled with demand. And seven were so swamped major internal incidents were declared.

The British Red Cross said it had crews working across Plymouth, Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Kettering and Northampton.

‘My freezing mum could’ve died’

AUDREY Esposito, 93, had to lie freezing cold for 40 minutes after a fall due to lack of ambulances. Cops eventually flagged down a paramedic who drove her to Bristol’s Southmead Hospital. Audrey, pictured, is still there ten days on. Son John Standfield, 59, said: “She could’ve died.” South Western Ambulance Service said it was one of 2016’s “busiest days”.

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Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: “Hospitals have become dangerously over-crowded.”

Last night an NHS England spokesman said: “Over the Christmas and New Year period A&E visits and everyday hospital admissions peaked on December 27 and 28 and NHS 111 had its busiest week ever.

“Plans remain in place to deal with additional demands during the winter and the public can play their part using local pharmacy and NHS 111 for medical advice, alongside other services.”

THE number of people going to A&E with dental problems is near 135,000 a year — almost ten times official figures — according to a study by Newcastle University and the British Dental Association.

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