Yesterday, the so-called “Recovery Forum” was hastily organized with specialists and health representatives to discuss, among other things, the improvement of emergency care. This is – partly due to the strikes – virtually flat, resulting in huge waiting times. The British government has already announced plans to reduce waiting times in the coming weeks.
“We look forward to easing the NHS workload,” Sunak said on Twitter yesterday. “We want to provide better care for our patients and deliver on our promise to reduce wait times.”
Criticism
Sunak’s handling of the health crisis has come under heavy criticism, including from Sunak’s own party. Following the corona crisis and subsequent war in Ukraine, UK hospitals have faced understaffing and unrest, with some hospitals declaring a state of emergency. Sick patients face long waiting times and there is an exponential increase in unnecessary deaths.
From this month there are no more strikes – underway in the rest of the country – in the health sector, but a union of newly graduated doctors threatened to strike for 72 hours in March. The unions and the government will discuss it again on Monday.