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Sep 30 2024

Villa Vie Odyssey passengers to leave Belfast after waiting months for round-the-world cruise | UK News

Cruise ship passengers stranded in Belfast have shared what they’ll miss about Northern Ireland as they prepare to finally set sail for a round-the-world trip.

The Villa Vie Odyssey was meant to embark on a three-and-a-half-year cruise on 30 May but engine problems forced the vessel – and its passengers – to stay in Belfast.

After a four-month delay, the ship is at last due to set sail at 11pm tonight.

John Hennessee and wife Melody Thor Hennessee, from Palm Beach, Florida, have embraced the delay and told Sky News there’s plenty about Belfast they’ll miss.

“The people are amazing,” Mrs Hennessee said. “They’re so kind and generous. It’s just amazing. We’ve made a lot of new friends, it’s been fun.”

She continued: “We’ve done pretty much every tourist thing Belfast has to offer. We just about frequent every restaurant you have in Belfast.

“We now love Guinness, that’s a big thing. We have one every day.”

“American Guinness isn’t quite like it is over here,” her husband added.

The couple have made the most of their time stranded on UK shores by also visiting Tenerife and Paris, as well as enjoying a shorter voyage on a Norwegian ship.

While they were “ecstatic” to finally receive a departure date, Mrs Hennessee added: “But this [delay] allowed us to finish the renovations on our cabin. Now we can cruise in style, it’s ready.”

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The luxury ship offers rental cabins from 35 to 120 days – or entire villas can be purchased for £90,000 to £260,000.

People who buy a villa own the space for however long the ship operates, with a minimum guarantee of 15 years.

The stranded passengers have been unable to stay onboard during the four-month delay and have instead stayed in hotels and short-term rental properties in Belfast.

Two of the ship’s passengers have had a particularly memorable time, going from being strangers to getting engaged while stranded.

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Jun 8 2024

Endometriosis patient is one of millions waiting for NHS treatment, as numbers have soared | UK News

Jasmine is in so much pain she can hardly get out of bed.

She’s clutching a hot water bottle and taking morphine, a strong painkiller which she says turns her into “a zombie”.

“It’s like there’s like a ball of acid in the middle of my torso and it’s burning its way through each of my organs. And it feels like that 24/7,” said the 23-year-old.

The pain Jasmine is describing is caused by endometriosis, a debilitating condition where cells similar to the ones lining the womb are found elsewhere in the body.

This can lead to inflammation, pain and the formation of scar tissue.

“It feels like there’s just searing, stinging, burning pain constantly. And that’s not even the worst of it,” she tells me.

She said symptoms started when she was about 12 years old and have worsened as the years have gone on.

For years she has had appointments, consultations and surgery on the NHS. But her experiences have left more than physical scars.

“I’ve been made to feel like I’m taking up their time. I’ve been made to feel like I’m not important and that my issues should just be medicated and that’s it.”

Read more: The search for a cure for endometriosis

Jasmine waited a year and seven months for an operation, but only after surgery was cancelled six times.

“There was never really a good explanation as to why the surgery was cancelled. I’d just get called up by someone and told it wasn’t happening.”

7.5 million waiting for treatment

Jasmine is one of millions of patients waiting months, sometimes years for NHS treatment. And the numbers have soared since the pandemic.

The number of people waiting for treatment on the NHS has doubled to 7.5 million and even though targets state that 92% of patients should begin treatment within 18 weeks, that target has not been met for nearly a decade.

Which is why the NHS will be one of the big issues for voters in the general election.

Labour said it will cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more evening and weekend appointments each week, paid for by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-doms.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives and Lib Dems have also promised to cut waiting lists by pouring an extra £1bn into the NHS.

Tackling waiting lists is also the public’s top priority – the highest number of those polled, 39%, say reducing them is the thing they most want the next government to deliver for the NHS, followed by 26% saying making it easier to get a GP appointment.

Twenty-five per cent who responded said the NHS is completely broken, with 61% saying it’s in a poor state and parts of it are broken. Only 1% of people said the NHS is healthy and has very few problems.

Thirty-two per cent of people said they most trusted Labour to reduce waiting times, with just 9% saying they trust the Conservatives most to do it.

Most tellingly, just over a quarter of those who responded, 26%, said no party can be trusted to solve the problems with the NHS.

‘Life seems quite bleak now’

It currently takes an average of eight years and 10 months to get a diagnosis of endometriosis, according to the charity Endometriosis UK.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, gynaecology waiting lists have increased by over 60%, the biggest increase in any specialism. In England alone, there are nearly 600,000 people on gynaecology waiting lists.

An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS takes endometriosis very seriously and it is essential that staff support women experiencing cyclical pain as well as the psychological effects associated with their symptoms.

“The health service is committed to meeting women’s individual healthcare needs and is rolling out dedicated pelvic health clinics – bringing together specialist healthcare staff – to provide further support for women living with endometriosis, as well as supporting all local areas to develop a women’s health hub, to help deliver better menstrual health services and improve women’s health outcomes.”

Jasmine is still waiting for her operation to ease her symptoms of endometriosis.

“It has taken a massive physical toll. But I suppose mentally maybe worse. Life seems quite bleak now. I used to have a lot of dreams wanting to travel the world. But I don’t have the energy for that anymore.”

Read more on Sky News:
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She says she hopes whoever wins the general election focuses more on the NHS.

“I’d like to believe that there was some sort of superhero to swoop in and save the NHS but I don’t feel in this current climate that that’s even remotely possible.

“I think the current government have run the NHS into the ground, but I don’t have much faith in any of the other parties to do much better.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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Jan 11 2024

NHS: What do the latest figures show about treatment waiting lists, hospital beds, and ambulance wait times? | UK News

NHS England’s waiting list for elective treatment fell from 7.7m in October to 7.6m in November.

That’s the smallest it’s been since June, but still far larger than it was in November 2022 (7.2m).

Despite facing the most sustained industrial action in its history, the NHS has had a relatively good winter.

A mild flu season has helped keep demand for the health service relatively low, at least partially offsetting the impact of the strikes.

As of 7 January, just 2,271 beds were rendered unavailable due to seasonal winter illnesses.

That’s less than half the figure at this time last year (5,151).

As a result, hospitals have been unusually empty for this time of year, with 91.9% of beds occupied (compared to 93.8% at the same time last year).

With more capacity, hospitals have had more space to take on elective cases and cut waiting lists.

It has also reduced some of the pressures on A&E departments. Waiting times have fallen, though they still remain well above their pre-pandemic levels.

In December, 104,000 people waited more than four hours to be admitted to A&E after the decision had been made to admit them, or 27% of all admissions.

That’s down from a record 33% of admissions in 2022, but far higher than it was in 2018 (11%).

One in every 12 admissions this December (8%, or 44,000 people) were forced to wait over 12 hours. Such waits were almost unheard of before the pandemic, affecting just 284 patients in December 2018.

Similarly, ambulance response times are better than last year, but remain above target.

The average call-out for a heart attack or stroke took 46 minutes to arrive, down from 48 minutes in December 2022 but six minutes above target.

For 10% of calls, ambulances took an hour and 41 minutes.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the health charity, the King’s Fund, said the figures showed the NHS was still not meeting the majority of its most important performance targets this winter.

“On some measures, the situation is better than this time last year, in part thanks to efforts to increase capacity as well as relatively low hospital admissions from COVID-19 and flu, but patients are still not receiving an acceptable level of service,” she said.

“Behind each of these figures is a person who is struggling to receive the timely care they need and deserve, despite the best efforts of staff.”

Read more from Sky News:
How NHS is ‘standing still’ to meet existing demand
Local NHS bodies on track to spend £4.9bn more than planned

Kate Seymour, head of advocacy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said that while the data showed a slight improvement on wait times, there were “still thousands of people in England facing agonising delays for vital cancer diagnosis and treatment”.

“Every day at Macmillan we hear how these unacceptable delays can cause needless anxiety and even result in a worse prognosis. People’s lives are being put at risk, and it’s simply not good enough,” she said.

Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said the figures showed the progress “our fantastic NHS staff can make towards bringing waiting lists down when they don’t have to contend with industrial action”.

“November was the first month without industrial action for over a year, and we reduced the total waiting list by more than 95,000 – the biggest decrease since December 2010, outside of the pandemic,” she said.

“We want to put an end to damaging strikes once and for all, and if the BMA Junior Doctors Committee can demonstrate they have reasonable expectations, I will still sit down with them.”

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Dec 13 2023

NHS waiting lists: Govt urged to be more honest about state of health service | Politics News

The government has been told to be more open and honest about the state of the NHS if it wants to reduce record waiting lists.

As of August, 7.75 million people were waiting for NHS treatment – the highest figure since records began in 2007.

The government has blamed ongoing strikes for rising waiting times.

However, speaking to Sky News during a special programme on the state of the health service in England, medical academic and GP Professor Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard blamed a lack of funding.

Politics latest: Key flaw in PM’s NHS waiting lists pledge

“What we’ve had is a long-term period where the NHS was underfunded,” she said.

“The funding is now at a much better level, but we’ve got this decade of underfunding which has led to fewer staff than we needed, fewer beds than we needed, fewer premises or inadequate premises compared to what we need and those have had an accumulative effect.

“If you haven’t got people coming through the training pipeline, if you haven’t got the equipment where you need it, you end up with the challenges we have now.

“And whilst we can’t undo the past, we have to work from where we are going forward.

“I think being honest with the public about the state of the NHS we have now, what we want the NHS to be and what those compromises might need to be in the future.

“I think it’s a very real, important and quite sophisticated debate, but one I think the public is ready to hear and engage with.

“What they don’t want is trite lines, suggesting everything will be marvellous and simple things are going to fix it – because they are not.

“Things are complicated,” added Dame Helen, who is chair of the National Academy of Social Prescribing and ex-chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, as well as a GP partner in Lichfield.

Siva Anandaciva, who is chief analyst at the King’s Fund to Health, said on the record waiting lists: “One reason is increased demand.

“Our population is growing, our population is ageing, so there’s more demand on the health service.

“But I think the key constraint, the key reason, is supply.

He explained that staff and equipment levels are not where they need to be to keep up with demand.

“Are there enough staff? Are there enough beds? Is there enough equipment to meet this rising demand?

“I’m afraid the answer is no. So that’s despite the prime minister’s pledge [to shorten waiting lists] waiting times have continued to increase.”

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Dec 13 2023

A bleak midwinter looms for the NHS as strikes, waiting lists and seasonal illness squeeze the service | UK News

Robert Carter describes himself as one of the “lucky ones”.

The 73-year-old retired taxi driver from Rugby went to see his doctor when he started passing blood in his urine. A CT scan found a cancerous tumour growing inside his kidney.

That was a little over three months ago. Today Robert is sitting up next to his bed in Ward 10 of University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire following surgery last week, waiting to be discharged.

“You do worry about the NHS now,” Robert says.

“Although they’ve always done me proud, but it is getting to the stage where for some people it is difficult and they’re having to wait for months and months and months for an appointment. I was one of the lucky ones.”

Robert has lost one of his kidneys to the disease but surgeons are confident they have removed all the cancer.

But the next few weeks could prove to be difficult for patients like Robert and doctors like Ed Hartley, one of the hospital’s most senior emergency consultants.

He is worried about the impact of forthcoming strike action.

“The next three weeks will be particularly challenging with the junior doctor strike, that has tested us several times over the past 12 months and our staff have stood up and risen to that challenge, but the next two or three weeks we see some unprecedented strike action that will put our hard working staff under even greater pressure.”

Junior doctors are due to take strike action from the 20th – 23rd December and from the 3rd to the 9th January 2024.

The six days in the new year will be the longest walkout in NHS history.

It means thousands of patients will see their elective operations cancelled over Christmas.

And, warns plastic surgeon Matthew Venus, when they do finally receive treatment many of these patients will be even sicker.

“When they do come for their surgery often their condition has worsened and that means that the surgery is more difficult and that complications are more likely, and so it sort of feeds itself really.”

The disruption couldn’t come at a worse time.

An increase in respiratory viruses and the struggle to discharge medically fit patients are putting the health system under strain.

Read more:
Norovirus: Winter vomiting bug cases far higher this year, warns NHS
Nurses’ union calls for pay negotiations to be reopened to anger of other health groups

The pressure on the NHS is not just seasonal, there is now huge financial pressure too.

Added to the cost of living crisis, the soaring price of energy and the extra money being spent on trying to address a record waiting list are the ten of millions of pounds hospitals must find to cover the junior doctor strikes.

Gaby Harris, Coventry Hospital’s chief operating officer, says the extra money must be found from existing budgets.

“The cost of the strikes does come out of our revenue budget, our… the money that we have and we are cognisant of that, we have to make sure that we are as productive and as efficient as we can be to try and mitigate some of that.”

Robert will be at home with his grandchildren for Christmas. But he knows his outpatient care in the weeks ahead could still be disrupted.

You can watch the Sky News NHS debate tonight at 7pm on Sky News, at news.sky.com or on the Sky News app

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Sep 14 2023

NHS to receive extra £200m ahead of winter amid record waiting lists | UK News

The NHS will receive a £200m boost from the government ahead of the busiest months of the year for them.

The winter resilience fund is aimed at supporting the health service so it can attend to patients as quickly as possible amid record waiting lists.

Last month, NHS England said 7.6 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of June – the highest number since records began in August 2007.

The additional money will help hospitals keep up with pre-planned surgeries and operations to cut down the list, according to officials.

Both the government and NHS England set an ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April this year.

However, that excluded exceptionally complex cases or where patients chose to wait longer.

Winter is a hectic time for the NHS with COVID, flu, and respiratory illnesses common during the season, with some health commentators saying last winter was one of the worst on record for the health service.

They welcomed the extra cash but have questioned how far it will stretch amid upcoming strikes by doctors and consultants.

For the first time in NHS history, joint walkouts were announced over pay disputes.

Read more:
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Male and female NHS surgical staff are victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape

Alongside the winter fund, the government announced a £40m investment in social care, with local authorities being urged to bid for a share of the cash.

Ministers also injected £250m into the NHS last month as part of the two-year Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery plan which promised 5,000 additional beds, 800 new ambulances, and 10,000 virtual wards.

Officials said progress has been made compared to last July including faster emergency ambulance response times and more availability of general, acute, and virtual beds.

NHS England had also announced plans to introduce social care “traffic control centres” to help speed up hospital discharges for patients no longer needing to be in the wards.

Speaking about the new subsidy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Winter is the most challenging time for the health service, which is why we’ve been planning for it all year – with huge government investment to fund new ambulances, beds and virtual wards.

“This extra £200 million will bolster the health service during its busiest period, while protecting elective care so we can keep cutting waiting lists.”

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Jun 16 2023

Government left 1.7 million people waiting for energy support due to a ‘lack of bandwidth’ | Business News

Millions of people were left waiting too long for energy support due to a lack of government “bandwidth”, according to a report from the cross-party Public Accounts Committee.

More than a million households became eligible for support too late, while a further two million homes using prepayment meters have yet to redeem their £400 voucher, according to the committee report on the energy bills support scheme.

As many as 900,000 households only became eligible for the £400-off energy bills support scheme in late February, nearly five months after consumers began receiving discounts on the main scheme, the report says. Those were houses without a direct relationship with an electricity supplier, including those living in park homes or on boats.

A further 836,000 residences in Northern Ireland only began receiving their £400 off energy bills in January 2023, three months later than in the rest of the UK.

Read more:
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National Grid to keep blackout prevention scheme for coming winter

There were a remaining two million households in Great Britain on prepayment meters in February yet to redeem vouchers for their £400 payment, the report added.

The department tasked with administering the payments – the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – told the committee it did not have the bandwidth to make sure support reached all groups in a timely way.

It acknowledged it is also the duty of electricity suppliers to ensure vouchers are redeemed.

While the department has since been split up, the committee said it should analyse which groups of households have not redeemed their vouchers and outline further action to increase retrieval rates.

“Serious concerns” were raised over the government’s “lack of urgency” in addressing the energy market failures that are leading to high energy bills for consumers, the report says.

“The Treasury and [the new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero] have also not fully grasped the pressures the non-domestic sector will face after the energy bill relief scheme ended in March 2023, or the potential risk of insolvencies,” it says.

The universal nature of the energy support was criticised in the report as homes and businesses that did not need support received it anyway.

Despite the plans in operation last winter, the government is not prepared for the coming winter, according to the committee.

“Almost halfway through the year we have not yet seen plans to ensure energy affordability for the coming winter,” committee chair Dame Meg Hillier said.

“As a matter of urgency, the government must show it’s clear not just on how households and businesses will be protected in any future price rises, but how to ensure resilience in the sector as a whole.”

The government has also been urged to invest any unspent resources on helping low-income and vulnerable homes by the chief executive of National Energy Action.

“That should support more than 2.5 million low-income and vulnerable households who are no longer receiving any government support,” Adam Scorer said.

“Without more targeted support this autumn and winter these households will be exposed to the worst of this ongoing crisis with all the dreadful consequences for health and wellbeing that we have seen day in and day out in recent times.”

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Mar 5 2023

‘Enough is enough – I need to grieve for my son’: Chris Kaba’s family are tired of waiting for answers after his death | UK News

Six months since Chris Kaba’s death, his parents Prosper and Helen are still not able to mourn their loss.

They sat down with me ahead of a community event commemorating their son’s death in Streatham Hill, south London.

We’re sitting on white chairs in front of a blue balloon arch that frames a mounted picture of their son with the words “Justice for Chris Kaba” printed on it.

There’s a table underneath which also has three photographs of the 24-year-old, including one of him as a baby.

Chris was a dad-to-be but he never got to meet his baby daughter, who was born after his death, just days before his funeral.

Raising their granddaughter while mourning their son has been heartbreaking, his parents tell me.

“It’s really difficult,” Helen says.

Prosper, who has just returned from Congo, where extended family are also mourning Chris’s passing, adds: “What will I tell my granddaughter one day when she asks me: ‘Where’s my dad? What happened to my dad?’

“What can I say?”

Read more:
Stormzy joins protesters demanding justice for Chris Kaba
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Mourners gather for funeral of unarmed man shot by police

Questions plague the family’s minds.

Prosper and Helen are clutching each other’s hands tightly. They are united in grief that is palpable – they’ve been through an extraordinary amount together over the past six months.

They learned of their son’s death by phone call, watching bodycam footage of the incident, and have been told to wait for answers which may be delivered by the police watchdog.

‘We want the truth’

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been investigating Chris’s death and is expected to deliver its report within the next three months.

But the family’s patience is wearing thin.

Helen tells us: “We want the truth.

“We want to know what happened and why and how.

“I need the answer.

“I’ve been waiting for six months, I can’t wait for another six months.

“Enough is enough, I need an answer.

“I need to grieve for my son.

“Enough is enough, enough is enough.

“We can’t wait any longer, we need answers.

“We need a verdict, we need to grieve for Chris.”

‘All of it has been hurting hard’

When I ask them about not being able to mourn his loss yet, they both shake their heads vigorously.

Prosper explains: “How are we meant to grieve without any justice?

“We want answers for our questions: our boy was killed – why?

“It’s been hard, very hard.

“All of it has been hurting hard.

“My family is devastated, my life is devastated. There is no more life.”

They both emphasise their need for answers.

“Why should it take six months?” Prosper says.

Some 60 people gathered at the New Park Road Baptist Church on Saturday night to show their solidarity with the family.

A video compilation of images and videos of Chris play on repeat via a projector as one by one, Chris’ cousin, Jefferson, and then his mother, and then father addressed the group.

The church is just a four-minute walk from where Chris was shot.

After sharing experiences, the group decide to retrace Chris’s route on the night of the 5 September 2022 to Kirkstall Gardens.

They sang, chanted and held a minute’s silence in his memory – all holding candles.

Some cried and others stood in silence on the quiet residential road just before 10pm, around the time of the shooting six months ago.

They may face a long legal road ahead but their yearning for answers deepens and their voices are loud.

IOPC ‘awaiting an external report’

On the anniversary of Chris’s death, many are on tenterhooks waiting for the IOPC’s findings.

An IOPC spokesperson told us: “We are confident that our investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba will conclude with the six-to-nine-month timeframe we specified at the outset.

“We are awaiting an external report which we require in order to conclude our investigation, finalise our report and then decide whether or not to refer a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision.

“We continue to provide regular updates to representatives for the Kaba family in line with the IOPC policy.”

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Feb 18 2023

People on mental health waiting lists cautioned not to turn to chatbots | Science & Tech News

People waiting months for mental health treatment have been cautioned against turning to chatbots as a quick alternative.

One in four patients are now waiting more than 90 days between their first and second appointments for NHS talking therapy treatment, according to analysis by charity Future Care Capital (FCC).

The free sessions, delivered by fully trained and accredited practitioners, are meant to support those who suffer from conditions like anxiety and depression.

But thousands of people are facing long delays, with demand for treatment having risen since the pandemic.

A recent survey by the FCC found 87% of people struggling with their mental health were now using apps to get help, with 31% leaning on such tools because they did not want to wait for face-to-face support.

Dr Lauren Evans, director of research and innovation at FCC, said such resources had a role to play but cautioned against the use of increasingly popular chatbots, which have been tipped as an alternative to search engines.

“Although chatbots have been used for a while to direct telephone enquiries or provide basic information, it is an entirely different endeavour to gauge not only what somebody is saying, but the way they are saying it and what that might entail,” she told Sky News.

Digital tools ‘must be tested to high standards’

Since the pandemic, Google has reported an increase in the number of searches related to mental health, notably depression and anxiety.

People are also turning to social media to find support. Research by Luna, an app designed to help teenagers with mental health struggles, suggests more than eight in 10 young people are using TikTok to diagnose their troubles.

According to the FCC’s survey, people are now more than twice as likely to find a digital mental health tool on social media than through their GP.

Chatbots specifically released to be digital therapists have also grown in popularity in recent years – examples include Woebot and Wysa, which are both highly rated on Apple and Google’s app stores.

But new language models like the successful ChatGPT from OpenAI are not designed for this purpose. Despite this, asking questions about mental health will still see it confidently deliver an answer – even if it’s wrong.

Dr Evans warned: “Any such technology needs to be subjected to rigorous testing with high standards – and it could prove to be revolutionary.

“But it should not be implemented in place of face-to-face treatment with a medical professional.”

Read more:
Google launches new AI chatbot
Microsoft upgrades Bing with ChatGPT features

‘People want the human touch’

UK charity Samaritans, which operates a free 24/7 helpline for people who are struggling, has also stressed the importance of human interaction when seeking mental health support.

Kay, a volunteer who signed up after receiving help during her own struggle with anxiety, told Sky News: “I don’t think chatbots would be entirely helpful, because you just don’t know what call you’re going to take.

“When people talk, they want the human touch, to feel they’re talking to a real person who can empathise.”

Read more:
10,000 calls a day – but they all start the same

Guide to digital mental health resources

In a bid to ensure those who do seek help online find an appropriate resource, the FCC has launched a new comprehensive guide that directs people towards trusted apps and platforms.

The digital mental health tools guide allows users to filter resource based on conditions like addiction, anxiety, stress, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and self-esteem.

“Digital tools are not a substitute for in-person mental health treatment,” Dr Evans stressed, “but can be used in conjunction with professional support and may help people waiting between treatment sessions.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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Jan 30 2023

Virtual hospital wards no substitute for real people, says patient waiting for hip operation | UK News

Carlo Zamboni used to climb in the Scottish Highlands in the school holidays.

Today, crossing his small flat is a mission for the retired teacher. Nudging 70, he’s on the NHS waiting list for a hip operation and a diagnosis to confirm the Parkinson’s disease his hand tremors suggest.

We were speaking to him as NHS England said it was planning to free up space by treating up to 50,000 elderly and vulnerable patients in “virtual wards” at home.

Three months ago a fall put Carlo in hospital.

“I fell over in a graveyard, lost my balance for some reason,” he said. “I was suspected of possibly developing Parkinson’s disease nine months previously, so I was taken to hospital.”

After a week he was discharged into the reality of Britain’s overwhelmed health and care system; a care trap for those, like Carlo, not sick enough to be in hospital, but not quite poor enough to qualify for social care.

“I thought I wasn’t satisfactorily cured or knew what was wrong with me, because they couldn’t diagnose or do the test for Parkinson’s,” he said.

“You could feel the pressure to get people out of the hospital. I totally understand the crisis but it’s a crisis we could have planned for. And we didn’t plan for it.”

Read more:
How the NHS is using ‘virtual wards’ and smartphones to clear beds
Sir Rod Stewart calls Sky News about NHS crisis

Carlo is not alone. His brother pops in to help, he’s had support from charities and the local church food bank, and a district nurse visits once a week to check a catheter, the legacy of a collapsed bowel.

He does not qualify for social care support, however. Modest savings and a potential inheritance put him above the earnings threshold.

The local council has installed wall rails and a rope bannister at the top of the stairs to his flat, but the 400 yard walk to the chemist still takes an hour and leaves him exhausted.

How to deal with the needs of people like Carlo, living with multiple morbidities, is one of the fundamental challenges facing the health service in a crisis like no other.

One reason emergency services are overwhelmed is because a fifth of beds are occupied by people who could be at home if only they could be discharged safely. This winter has seen huge pressure to speed up that process.

With social care denuded by low pay and a staffing shortage, NHS England wants to scale up the use of technology, prescribing wearable devices to vulnerable people so they can be monitored remotely from home rather than a precious hospital bed.

Carlo says the “hospital at home” plan might help. “It’s a possibility worth exploring and experimenting with, but there’s no replacement for real people,” he told us.

What he really wants, though, is the government to honour the NHS commitment.

“I expect the NHS to remain true to its principles and I expect people to have faith in the NHS.

“Our generation were promised cradle-to-grave care. And I hope that promise is upheld – for more generations.”

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