Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, following parliamentary debate on the situation in England’s A&E departments, said:

“It is clear, from the complacency we have seen today, that David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt do not have a plan for A&Es nor a grip on what is happening. 

“Ministers keep talking about the big increase in people arriving at A&E but they seem unwilling to explain why it has happened in the last couple of years. This is down to ill-judged decisions that they have taken, like scrapping NHS Direct, closing NHS Walk-in Centres and cutting GP services and social care. Their inability to admit this is one of the main reasons why they are unable to face up to the crisis they’ve created.

"Jeremy Hunt was dragged to the Commons, but failed to offer a single new proposal to deal with the A&E crisis.

"Labour called on the Government to bring all emergency services together at an A&E Summit and it is extremely disappointing that Ministers rejected this out of hand. Better co-ordination between the NHS, police, fire service and local authorities will be crucial in the days and weeks ahead to and that’s why Jeremy Hunt should reconsider.

"He must also look into South East Coast Ambulance Service’s decision, in the face of growing ambulance queues outside hospitals, to introduce a new policy of leaving patients after 45 minutes regardless of whether they have been admitted. He must say whether he is satisfied that this procedure is safe or overrule it.

"It is yet more proof that the NHS as you know it won’t survive another five years of David Cameron. Labour will rescue the NHS with a £2.5 billion a year Time to Care fund - on top of Tory spending plans - to fund new staff, including 20,000 more nurses.”