Bailout for A&E only ‘papering cracks’

A £500 million bailout for NHS Accident and Emergency (A&E) units is almost “papering the cracks”, leading doctors have said.

This comes after British Prime Minister David Cameron announced £500 million to help A&E departments deal with increasing numbers of patients who often remain stuck in hospitals.

“At a time when they are demanding cuts of £20bn across the NHS, this is nothing more than papering over the cracks,” said a spokesperson for the British Medical Association (BMA), adding that the bailout was a sign that austerity had failed.

Labour’s shadow health minister Jamie Reed also said, “Cameron’s A&E crisis is a symptom of wider problems in the NHS and care system, which this announcement will not address.”

According to a recent report by NHS Confederation, waiting times for treatment and the rationing of care have worsened and will get worse due to cuts.

A&E units are facing their biggest challenge in more than a decade as a result of unsustainable workloads and lack of staff.

According to the reports, A&E attendances have increased by 50 percent in a decade, with mounting pressure across the whole of Britain.