Red Cross chief defends NHS 'humanitarian crisis' claim

The head of the British Red Cross has defended his claim that the National Health Service is facing a "humanitarian crisis" due to Government cuts.

Mike Adamson told Sky News he was "not trying to embarrass anyone" but hospitals are "feeling the pressure" amid "increasingly chaotic situations".

The phrase "humanitarian crisis" is often used to describe situations in war zones, natural disasters and disease outbreaks such as Ebola.

But the chief executive said the term was justified for the NHS because those the charity had spoken to feel like they are in crisis as they are not able to get the assistance they need.

He said: "We have been called in to support the NHS and help get people home from hospital and free up much-needed beds."

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Hundreds of thousands who used to get assistance from social care are no longer doing so because of billions of pounds of cuts, according to Mr Adamson.

He claimed the charity was helping people leaving hospital who do not have friends and family for assistance, to get back on their feet.

But on some occasions, patients were being discharged without clothes and food was not being cleared in their homes, he said.

Some were being kept in hospital longer because social care packages in the home were not available.

He said his Red Cross volunteers were working with more than 100 hospitals across the country and were "picking up some of the slack".

They have already helped staff at the East Midlands Ambulance Service across Nottingham, Leicester, Kettering, Northampton and Lincoln.

Professor Keith Willett, director for acute care at NHS England, praised the charity's "great service at home" and its ambulance work but said the "humanitarian crisis" claim was an "overstatement".

He admitted: "Clearly demand is very high and it's higher than it's ever been but we have probably the most comprehensive plans in place that we've ever had.

"But it is really very difficult for the moment."

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said it was "staggering" the Red Cross had been called on to help, describing it as "a badge of shame" for Prime Minister Theresa May.

It comes as new figures show that between 1 December and 1 January, there were 143 A&E diverts across England - a 63% rise on the 88 recorded for 1 December to 3 January the previous year.