Silence as Sunak faces calls to declare NHS crisis

Getty/Nigel Harris

The Prime Minister was under pressure last night to declare a state of emergency as the problems with NHS care escalated with reports of oxygen shortages and hospitals desperately appealing for staff to abandon their holidays.

Doctors warned last week that the NHS had “collapsed” and over the weekend the number of critical incidents across the UK escalated.

Many hospitals, across the UK, appealed to staff to come in from their leave to help deal with the crisis.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper called for Parliament to be recalled while other prominent figures called for Rishi Sunak to convene a COBRA meeting – a crisis gathering. The British Medical Association called for “immediate action”.

Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The current situation in urgent and emergency care is shocking. It is in a critical state for patients and it is an extremely difficult for healthcare staff who are unable to deliver the care they want to.