NHS Facing 'Humanitarian Crisis' Warns British Red Cross

Normally, Brits associate the terms "Red Cross" and "humanitarian crisis" with wars and famine in the Middle East, Africa and other distant parts of the world.

Now there is mounting anger after the British Red Cross has revealed it has been called in to help cope with a "humanitarian crisis" in the National Health Service.

The crisis is so severe that the Red Cross is using its Land Rovers to help transport patients.

As accident and emergency departments across the UK have experienced one of their busiest weeks ever, the British Red Cross demanded the government increase its funding for health and social care.

In just 24 hours from Friday, at least 14 health trusts have warned of overcrowding in their A&E units.

This is having a knock-on effect on ambulance services with many facing significant delays, the Red Cross says, with added pressure from delays in discharging patients.

Even though many patients are well enough to leave, they are stuck in hospital because they do not have the necessary care and support at home.

Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, says in the statement, posted on the charity's website alongside an appeal for Yemen: "No one chooses to stay in hospital unless they have to, but we see first-hand what happens when people are sent home without appropriate and adequate care.

"We've seen people sent home without clothes, some suffer falls and are not found for days, while others are not washed because there is no carer there to help them.

"If people don't receive the care they need and deserve, they will simply end up returning to A&E, and the cycle begins again."

The gap in care provision is caused by lack of investment in care services for adults, cuts to funding and increasing demand, the charity says.

As well as providing Land Rovers, the Red Cross is sending volunteers and staff to help patients settle back home after hospital care, and improve the flow of patients in and out of hospital.

"Our experience shows us that where more vulnerable people are supported at the point of leaving hospital, it helps to free up beds, helps NHS staff, and helps people in their recovery at home," the charity says.

In the current crisis, the Red Cross is supporting East Midlands Ambulance Service across Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Kettering and Northampton. The charity is also boosting its existing support with home services to alleviate  pressure.

In one area, the Red Cross is working alongside hospital Matrons to arrange transport for people who have been discharged and have more volunteers ready to ensure people are settled back into their homes safely.

Adamson said: "The British Red Cross is on the front line, responding to the humanitarian crisis in our hospital and ambulance services across the country.

"We have been called in to support the NHS and help get people home from hospital and free up much-needed beds.

"This means deploying our team of emergency volunteers and even calling on our partner Land Rover to lend vehicles to transport patients and get the system moving.

"We call on the UK government to allocate immediate funding to stabilise the current system and set out plans towards creating a sustainable funding settlement for the future."

MPs and others responded with outrage that the NHS, founded in 1948, is in such difficulty that an organisation such as the Red Cross is driven to describe it as a "humanitarian crisis". They called for action to save the service, vital to the health and livelihoods of most of the nation.

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth tweeted:

Former vicar, the MP Chris Bryant, tweeted:

Angela Rayner MP tweeted:

A spokeswoman for NHS England said plans were in place to cope with added winter pressures. In addition, bedds are not actually as full as they were at the start of January last year.