Rishi’s triple New Year headache: Prime Minister faces 500 dying a week due to NHS delays, record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel and a double walkout by rail unions in 2023
- Up to 500 patients are dying each week due to NHS delays, a top doctor warned
- A record 45,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats last year
- Trade unions are preparing to bring the railways to a standstill again this week
- PM Rishi Sunak insists: ‘The Government I lead is putting your priorities first’
The scale of the exceptional New Year challenges facing Rishi Sunak was laid bare tonight.
The first was the devastating revelation from the nation’s top A&E doctor that up to 500 patients are dying each week because of delays in casualty units.
In a second blow, official figures revealed that a record 45,756 migrants crossed the Channel last year despite huge efforts by ministers to try to stop the people-smuggling trade.
And, finally, trade unions are preparing to bring the railways to a standstill again this week ahead of fresh walkouts by nurses and ambulance staff in a worsening winter of discontent.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted in his stark New Year message that 2022 had been ‘tough’ because of the cost of living crisis, adding: ‘Yes, 2023 will have its challenges, but the Government I lead is putting your priorities first.’
Mr Sunak’s first task will be to get the NHS through its winter crisis (Pictured: Ambulance workers gather outside Kenton Ambulance Station during a strike over pay and conditions)
Mr Sunak admitted in his stark New Year message that 2022 had been ‘tough’ because of the cost of living crisis.
However he insisted: ‘Yes, 2023 will have its challenges, but the Government I lead is putting your priorities first.’ In other developments:
- One in six people has had to become a ‘DIY doctor’ after failing to get a face-to-face GP appointment, shocking figures suggest today;
- Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the Government should declare a national NHS major incident to rescue the healthcare system from crisis;
- Rail workers embarking on the latest strike over pay this week have taken home more than £150million in taxpayer-funded bonuses in recent years;
- It is feared the PM’s plan for ‘tough new laws’ to crack down on strikes will not take place for at least six months.
Having steadied the economy and his party after a tumultuous year, Mr Sunak is confident he can get to grips with the problems facing the country.
Senior Tories believe he still has time to overturn Labour’s huge poll lead before the next general election.
A government source said: ‘The PM knows the challenges he faces… with the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and the consequences of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continuing to cause global economic pressures.
Trade unions are preparing to bring the railways to a standstill again this week (Pictured: queues of passengers at Euston train station on December 29)
A record 45,756 migrants crossed the Channel last year despite huge efforts by ministers to try to stop the people-smuggling trade
‘But he is an optimist and is confident the UK’s best days lie ahead. He is relentlessly focused on the public’s priorities as we enter the New Year – bringing down NHS waiting times, tackling illegal migration and helping with the cost of living.’
Mr Sunak’s first task will be to get the NHS through its winter crisis.
Thousands of patients are being forced to wait more than 12 hours in emergency departments for a decision on whether or not they should be admitted, while others remain stuck in ambulances. A weekend survey showed the public think the NHS should be the Government priority as millions wait for routine surgery.
Plans for dealing with the backlog include an urgent care recovery plan for hospitals and an attempt to increase appointments in primary care.
Tackling the small boats migrant crisis is another issue high among the concerns of Tory voters and, almost as importantly for Mr Sunak, his own MPs.
He has announced a five-point plan to tackle illegal migration, including a unified command to stop dinghies crossing the Channel, ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers and focusing on rejecting claims by Albanians so they can be sent back.
Separately, Mr Sunak is under pressure to hold firm against the unions trying to bring the country to a halt as they strike over huge pay demands.
The Prime Minister has refused to enter into negotiations, sticking to the offers made by independent pay review bodies last year, and instead wants swift settlements for the coming year’s pay. NHS bosses yesterday warned ministers they risk ‘prolonged’ industrial action if they offer health workers a below-inflation pay increase – predicted to be about 2 per cent in 2023-24 – for a second year running.
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