Health secretary blames NHS pressure for flu, Covid, Strep A fears

The health secretary has blamed the high number of flu cases, Covid-19 and Strep A fears on the particular pressure the NHS faced over Christmas.

Steve Barclay’s comments come as senior doctors say the NHS is at a knife edge as many A&E units struggle to keep up with demand and trust and ambulance services declare a serious incident. will be issued to

Berkeley acknowledged the situation was unacceptable, but attributed the “special pressure” of Christmas to “a spike in flu cases, Covid cases, and a lot of concern about Strep A.”

He told the station:

“So we are putting more money into it. We have more clinicians and more staff working in the NHS.

“There are, of course, different factors that have to be done. There was a particular pressure at Christmas, with flu and Covid cases skyrocketing and a lot of concerns about Strep A.”

Berkeley also said the government is focused on freeing up hospital beds and creating more capacity.

He said people have become more reluctant to visit their primary care physicians as a result of Covid, adding that it has “especially impacted cardiovascular risk.”

Barclay added:

“Yes, getting ambulances to people quickly is also important, but there are many factors involved in deaths, especially from cardiovascular disease, which is a major issue when looking at the challenge in terms of excess deaths. (number.

“So this is something that the Chief Medical Officer, the NHS Medical Officer, has been looking very closely at.

“That’s why we’re so focused on getting people out of hospitals who don’t need to be there. Doing so accelerates delays in ambulance handovers and encourages ambulances to come back to answer calls.” because it becomes

When asked why he did not raise actual salaries for NHS staff given the record number of vacancies, Mr Barclay said the government would “for example set up more diagnostic hubs, acquire surgical We are concentrating funds on the operational backlog, such as.” We are reducing the backlog due to the pandemic in the hubs we are deploying. “

Employment and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride also called for “wage controls across the public sector.”

he said: He is afraid that he will not reach because he will fall. “

Asked if it was time to sit down and talk to union leaders about wages, Stride said:

“Now nurses have been treated as a special case. They achieved a 3% salary increase at a time when public sector salaries were generally frozen.”

He added: A price spiral phenomenon that is hard to get out of once you get hooked.

“It will impoverish us all because inflation will be so high, especially for pensioners and people with fixed incomes.”

Paramedics will be back at work on January 11th and 23rd, while nursing staff will go on strike on January 18th and 19th.

Pat Cullen, General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Royal College of Nursing, said:

“Governments cannot blame a pandemic or other winter pressures for the crisis unfolding before us. I’ve been ignoring you.

“It’s painful and upsetting to be in this position, especially for patients and our members who struggle on the front lines every day.

“One of the root causes is the worsening workforce crisis.

“Patients are never safe without enough staff. But the prime minister and government continue to refuse to even meet with us to discuss wages.”

Unison’s Deputy Director Helga Pyle argued that “the NHS is on its knees like never before” and that “government failure to address the workforce crisis is at the heart of the problem that plagues patients every day”. added.

“Governments must stop backpassing, caused by years of neglect. “