Badenoch defends Government’s response to NHS as nurses declare ‘national emergency’
Nurses today declared a “national emergency” for the NHS and warned that hospital patients are “dying in their corridors” (read more here).
When asked what she thought about the declaration, Cabinet Secretary Kemi Badenoch said it was “horrible.”
But she defended the Government, saying it had “put more money into the NHS than ever before”.
She said this was “one of the areas we have been discussing about building on the efforts that we have been focusing on the NHS and enabling it to deliver more for people.”
“Obviously, the scenario that the UK College of Nursing is painting is not one that we ever want to see,” she said, adding that health ministers had set out the Conservative government’s revised plan.
Asked for details of these plans, Badenoch said the Government was working on pay negotiations with junior doctors to stop industrial action to reduce waiting lists and “has launched a programme to build new hospitals”.
She added that “the NHS has never been without problems”, but that the Conservative government had demonstrated its commitment to funding the NHS rather than being accused of privatising it, as it is often accused of doing.
Asked about comments made ahead of the junior doctors’ strike about waiting lists falling, she said: “I don’t want to be involved in any conversation that makes it sound like I’m belittling NHS staff.”
“We value them and know how hard they work.”
But she added that the strikes are “affecting patients” and said the Prime Minister has sought “long-term solutions to the NHS’s staffing challenges rather than relying on short-term fixes”.
The Conservatives have promised to build 100 new GP practices and modernise a further 150 if they win the election, but he asked Badenoch why voters should believe those promises when an independent investigation has shown they will not be able to build the 40 new hospitals they promised at the last election.
She responded: “Because one thing has happened that wasn’t in the manifesto: COVID-19.”
“And because of COVID-19, we’ve ended up spending more money on the NHS than anyone expected – to protect the health of people across the country.”
