Healthcare unions have disputed the pertinence of Theresa May’s claim that NHS funding is at record levels, saying she is in “denial” over overwhelming demand and bed shortages.

The Prime Minister rejected a warning from British Red Cross that hospitals are facing a “humanitarian crisis” after the organisation stepped in to support the overstretched health service.

Ms May acknowledged the NHS was under pressure but told Sky News the Government was addressing the issue of an ageing population, adding that health funding was at record levels.

“We asked the NHS a while back to set out what it needed over the next five years in terms of its plan for the future and the funding that it would need. They did that, we gave them that funding, in fact we gave them more funding than they required,” she said.

“Funding is now at record levels for the NHS, more money has been going in.”

But Mark Porter, council chair of the British Medical Association, said spiralling patient numbers and the lack of additional funding provided for health and social care meant the service was still struggling in real terms.

Rehana Azam, head of public services at GMB, the largest union in the ambulance services, told The Independent Ms May’s comments carried a “level of denial”.

And Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite, said Ms May was “in danger of being ‘economical with the actualité’ on the issues of NHS funding”.

Theresa May avoids directly answering four questions in a row on Brexit

“Despite Theresa May’s claims that funding for the NHS is at record levels, the Red Cross intervention comes at a time when hospital beds have hit a record low, demand on the system is at a record high and general practice is struggling to cope with rising patient numbers,” Dr Porter told The Independent.

“Given that the NHS was facing the worst winter on record, the unacceptable absence of additional funding for health and social care in the Autumn Statement has only further exacerbated the crisis.”

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called on Ms May and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to make an emergency statement on the issue in Parliament tomorrow.

Figures show A&E departments shut their doors to patients more than 140 times in December, while a third of NHS trusts in England have issued alerts as they are struggling to cope with demand, according to the Nuffield Trust.

The British Red Cross, which is helping at hospitals in the East Midlands, said the government should take immediate action to “stabilise” the health service after it emerged two patients died on trolleys in the A&E department of Worcestershire Royal hospital last week.

Dr Porter said Theresa May could not “continue to bury her head in the sand” as the situation worsened.

“We have seen no signs from the Prime Minister since taking office that she understands the gravity of the situation the NHS is facing,” said Mr Porter.

“The proportion of national income invested in healthcare in this country is lower than other leading nations and the government’s refusal to fill the black hole in NHS finances, as evidenced with lack of additional funding in the Autumn Statement, is betraying a population growing more anxious about an uncertain future.”

Head of public services at the GMB says Theresa May has a ‘level of denial’ (Getty) (Getty Images)

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was accused of “hiding” from the public eye during what the Society for Acute Medicine has warned could be the worst January the NHS has ever faced.

Mr Hunt has not yet issued a comment on the unfolding health service crisis.

“Where’s Jeremy Hunt in all of this?” said Ms Azam. “It’s the staff who are being let down, and it’s the public and the patients who are being let down.”

“There’s a level of denial here. It’s almost like Ms May doesn’t want to acknowledge the real problem, which is that a third of hospitals are on black alert because they’re overstretched, and the resources haven’t been put in over time.”

Ms Azam claimed NHS funding hadn’t kept in pace with inflation or demand.

“It’s brilliant that people live longer, but people have complex needs,” she said. “[The Leave campaign] lied about giving £350m a week to the NHS when the EU referendum was going on. Now, post-Brexit, you need to build a good country on proper public services.”

The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address Show all 6 1 /6 The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address Brexit The big one. Theresa May has spoken publicly three times since declaring her intent to stand in the Tory Leadership race, and each time she has said, ‘Brexit means Brexit.’ It sounds resolute, but it is helpful to her that Brexit is a made up word with no real meaning. She has said there will be ‘no second referendum’ and no re-entry in to the EU via the back door. But she, like the Leave campaign of which she was not a member, has pointedly not said with any precision what she thinks Brexit means Reuters The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address General election This is very much one to keep off the to do list. She said last week there would be ‘no general election’ at this time of great instability. But there have already been calls for one from opposition parties. The Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2010 makes it far more difficult to call a snap general election, a difficulty she will be in no rush to overcome. In the event of a victory for Leadsom, who was not popular with her own parliamentary colleagues, an election might have been required, but May has the overwhelming backing of the parliamentary party Getty The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address HS2 Macbeth has been quoted far too much in recent weeks, but it will be up to May to decide whether, with regard to the new high speed train link between London, Birmingham, the East Midlands and the north, ‘returning were as tedious as go o’er.’ Billions have already been spent. But the £55bn it will cost, at a bare minimum, must now be considered against the grim reality of significantly diminished public finances in the short to medium term at least. It is not scheduled to be completed until 2033, by which point it is not completely unreasonable to imagine a massive, driverless car-led transport revolution having rendered it redundant EPA The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address Heathrow expansion Or indeed Gatwick expansion. Or Boris Island, though that option is seems as finished as the man himself. The decision on where to expand aviation capacity in the south east has been delayed to the point of becoming a national embarrassment. A final decision was due in autumn. Whatever is decided, there will be vast opprobrium PA The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address Trident renewal David Cameron indicated two days ago that there will be a Commons vote on renewing Britain’s nuclear deterrent on July 18th, by which point we now know, Ms May will be Prime Minister. The Labour Party is, to put it mildly, divided on the issue. This will be an early opportunity to maximise their embarrassment, and return to Tory business as usual EPA The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address Scottish Independence Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP are in no doubt that the Brexit vote provides the opportunity for a second independence referendum, in which they can emerge victorious. The Scottish Parliament at Holyrood has the authority to call a second referendum, but Ms May and the British Parliament are by no means automatically compelled to accept the result. She could argue it was settled in 2014 AFP/Getty

Ms May said that an ageing population “brings pressures, particularly in the interface between the health service and social care”.

“We have taken some immediate steps in relation to that issue, but we are also looking to ensure best practice in the NHS and looking for a long-term solution to what has been a problem that has been ducked by government over the years,” she told Sky’s Sophy Ridge.

Mr McCluskey told The Independent: “The PM is in danger of being ‘economic with the actualité’ on the issues of NHS funding. Health economists have consistently said that by forcing the NHS to make £20 billion in savings by 2020, the government is driving this service into crisis.