UK politics - live: Barclay says ‘risk’ patients dying unnecessarily due to NHS delays
A union boss later accused the health secretary of saying ‘frankly pretty dishonest stuff’
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Health secretary Steve Barclay has admitted there is a “material risk” NHS patients are dying unnecessarily due to long ambulance delays,
Mr Barclay was also accused of “frankly pretty dishonest stuff” by the leader of the GMB union largest unions as he defended the actions ministers are taking on the health service.
Asked if people were dying because of ambulance delays, Mr Barclay told the BBC’s Laura Kuenessberg: “If there is a delay in an ambulance getting to someone in terms of unmet need, then obviously that is a material risk”.
During his Sunday media round this morning, the former Brexit minister also claimed he did not recognise a report in The Sunday Times that Britain will seek a Swiss-style deal with the European Union.
It follows reports that senior figures in Rishi Sunak’s government were considering moving Britain towards such relationship with the bloc in pursuing frictionless trade amid the soaring cost-of-living crisis.
He told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme on Sky News: “We’ve got a prime minister who himself supported Brexit. I myself did and was Brexit secretary, and worked very hard to maximise our control of our laws, our borders and our money.
We’re pausing our live politics coverage for today, for the latest updates, visit https://www.independent.co.uk
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Union boss accuses Barclay of saying ‘frankly pretty dishonest stuff'
A Union boss said he was left “incandescent” by comments made by health secretary Steve Barclay over tackling the backlogs in the NHS.
Gary Smith, who leads the GMB trade union, told the BBC’s Laura Kuenessberg: “I mean this is deluded and frankly pretty dishonest stuff from the secretary of state, the ambulance service, the health service and care were on their knees going to the pandemic and things have got worse.
“Our care homes were turned into morgues during the pandemic because of mismanagement and cuts people are dying because of cuts in services,” he says.
Health secretary Steve Barclay admits ‘risk’ patients are dying unnecessarily because of ambulance delays
There is a “material risk” patients are dying unnecessarily because of long ambulance delays, the health secretary has admitted.
Steve Barclay was also accused of “frankly pretty dishonest stuff” by the leader of the one of the country’s largest unions as he defended the actions ministers are taking on the health service .
Asked if people were dying because of ambulance delays, Mr Barclay conceded: “If there is a delay in an ambulance getting to someone in terms of unmet need, then obviously that is a material risk”.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin has more:
Health secretary admits ‘risk’ patients are dying because of ambulance delays
Defence of NHS plans denounced as ‘frankly pretty dishonest stuff’ by union boss
Barclay says delay to social care reform was ‘difficult’, but necessary
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has admitted it was a difficult decision to delay reforms to social care, but insisted that choice had been made in order that the government could focus on fixing issues brought on by the pandemic.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenessberg, he said there were 13,500 people in hospital who are ready to go home but can’t because there are not enough care packages for them, which was having a knock-on effect on ambulance waiting times and the flow of patients through hospitals.
He continued by saying the primary cause of people being delayed from leaving hospital is social care which is why the government is putting its investment there.
Mr Barclay later admitted there were “severe pressures” on the NHS but said the origin of those pressures was the coronavirus pandemic, rejecting Ms Kuenessberg’s citing years of underfunding as a primary factor.
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