Conservative spokesman dismisses Labour suggestion as an attempt to generate headlines rather than propose solution

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The government has rejected Labour’s call for an emergency summit on the winter crisis at hospital A&E departments in England amid a deepening political row over the NHS as more hospitals declare major incidents as they struggle to cope with demand.

On Tuesday night, Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge became the latest hospital to activate a major incident plan to cope with a surge in patients as A&E units recorded their worst ever performance in a week. It joins a list of at least 15 hospitals that are enacting emergency measures after a surge in demand , including Great Western hospital in Swindon, which was forced to treat patients in an emergency tent erected in its car park.

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS foundation trust, University hospitals of North Midlands in Staffordshire, Walsall Manor hospital and the Royal Bolton hospital have also declared major incidents.

Labour’s health spokesman, Andy Burnham, urged ministers to convene an emergency summit of health, social care, council and emergency services to find ways to ease the pressures on struggling accident and emergency departments.

He published a letter to Jeremy Hunt accusing the health secretary of failing to anticipate the impact of cuts on social care capacity leaving frail elderly people “trapped in hospital” and blaming difficulties getting GP appointments and staff shortages for the delays.

Reports of fire engines and police cars being increasingly used as ambulances raised “major patient and public safety concerns”, Burnham wrote.

David Cameron admitted the NHS was under pressure but dismissed union claims that the service was “on the brink of disaster”. A Conservative spokesman rejected Labour’s suggestion of a summit as an attempt to generate headlines rather than propose a solution.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An emergency NHS tent erected outside Great Western hospital in Swindon.

The prime minister said there was a “short-term pressure issue which we need to meet with resources and management”.

“We’ve got a longer-term issue which is making sure that there are named GPs in your local area which are responsible for every single frail, elderly person.

“A lot of the pressure on A&E is coming from frail, elderly people, often with many different health conditions and the best place for them, frankly, is not A&E.

“They should be being looked after by the family doctor or in other health settings and I think the long-term challenge is to make sure those sorts of settings are more available.”

Cameron accused the union Unison of trying to “scaremonger” after it claimed the NHS was “on the brink of disaster”. He added: “I don’t think it’s remotely true or remotely responsible. The fact is the NHS is coping with a huge amount.”

Cameron’s attempt to play down the crisis comes against a backdrop of mounting evidence that A&E departments are struggling to cope.

Peterborough city hospital cancelled eight operations on Tuesday, after cancelling nine on Monday, in order to prioritise emergency care. It said some patients had had to wait almost 12 hours for a bed after it had been decided to admit them.

The trust’s chief operating officer, Andy Ennis, said its priority was “quickly freeing up beds and finding places for those patients who no longer need hospital care”.

Walsall Manor hospital is trying to open a new 30-bed ward early next week to help take the strain. It said it has cancelled some planned surgery, scaled back staff training and was ensuring outpatient clinics were not taking staff away from the emergency frontline.

GPs in Bedford received a message through an online system for doctors on Tuesday afternoon, saying Bedford hospital had declared a significant incident.

Brighton and Sussex University hospitals trust, which termed its incident “significant”, said the Princess Royal Brighton and the Royal Sussex had cancelled some appointments, clinics and operations but did not provide further details. Norwich and Norfolk hospital revealed it had reinstated an “internal major incident” and was discharging patients able to go home immediately to increase capacity to meet demand. Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire has opened up additional areas and increased clinical staff on wards.

The others known to be affected are the Royal Stoke University hospital, Stafford hospital, Gloucestershire Royal hospital, Cheltenham General hospital, Scarborough hospital, Ashford and St Peter’s hospitals.

Different trusts appear to define what constitutes a major incident differently, with one telling the Guardian that it would only use such terms for an external event, such as a major accident or attack that caused a number of injuries and/or fatalities.

The NHS defines a major incident as “any occurrence that presents serious threat to the health of the community, disruption to the service or causes (or is likely to cause) such numbers or types of casualties as to require special arrangements to be implemented by hospitals, ambulance trusts or other acute or community provider organisations”.

The Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn has been on “black alert”, the step below a major incident, since the weekend.

A 16th hospital, Croydon University, briefly declared “an internal major incident” on Tuesday morning but downgraded it in the afternoon.

Other hospitals appeared to be taking similar action to those that had declared major incidents, while avoiding using the actual term.

Epsom and St Helier University hospitals NHS trust declared a “business continuity incident” on Tuesday and said consultants were asked to review patients’ conditions to see if they could be discharged to free up beds.

The Isle of Wight NHS trust cancelled some planned operations on Tuesday and said ambulances were queuing because of a lack of beds, but it did not formally declare a major incident.

Hereford hospital said it has cancelled routine operations, while non-essential surgery had been cancelled this week at the Great Western Hospitals NHS foundation trust, which has had two significant incidents since 1 December 2014.

The Royal Bournemouth hospital said it had 35 patients who were medically fit to go home but were still occupying beds because of problems with transfer of care. Hospitals in Scotland and Wales are experiencing similar pressures. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has postponed 44 procedures, while NHS Grampian cancelled 20 minor operations on Tuesday, and Welsh health boards reported that they have implemented special measures due to high capacity.

The Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University health board, which runs several hospitals around Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend, estimated that about 20 to 25 non-essential operations a day were being postponed, while Wales’s largest health board, Betsi Cadwaladr University health board, also reported that it had reduced its routine operations and brought in more staff and extra beds.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dr Mark Porter, head of the BMA, said the system was struggling to cope. Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

The British Medical Association, which represents doctors, demanded urgent improvements to the overall system of NHS care to relieve the pressure on hospitals, such as improving the NHS 111 telephone advice service and providing better social care services to help vulnerable patients stay well at home.

“Staff are working flat out but the system is struggling to cope with the sheer number of patients coming through the door,” said Dr Mark Porter, the BMA’s leader.

On Tuesday night, there was a deceptive calm in the A&E waiting room at Peterborough city hospital with only about nine people present, but staff told a different story.

“It’s quiet now, but yesterday there were 12 ambulances queuing,” said a woman at the reception desk. “It doesn’t look busy but people have to be assessed and that can take time.”

Peterborough hospital, a modern building of glass facades with 611 beds, was among those to declare an “internal major incident” in the current winter crisis – its fourth since 1 December last year. In the latest declaration, the hospital cancelled 11 planned operations on Wednesday, although all emergency and cancer surgery will take place.

Neil Doverty, chief operating officer at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS foundation trust, said: “The trust declared an internal major incident on Monday morning following a weekend of greater levels of emergency admissions and fewer patients being discharged, due to either being medically unfit or awaiting further care arrangements to be put into place in the community across all counties we serve … Sadly we have had to cancel some planned operations in order to ensure beds are prioritised for emergency patients.”

In declaring a major incident, Peterborough appealed for help from Cambridgeshire community services trust, Peterborough city council and local GPs.

The hospital said it had 19 people in the emergency department who needed a bed but there were no vacant beds in the wards.