Q&A: Do we have 'Farage Derangement Syndrome'? Plus the team reveal their most awkward interviews
In this week's Talking Politics Q&A, Paul Brand, Robert Peston and Harry Horton answer the questions that matter to you and reveal their most awkward interviews
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Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Telegraph
Don't go to A&E, walking wounded told
The walking wounded will be told to stay away from A&E in the biggest shake-up since the NHS was founded. Wes Streeting said a raft of changes would bring the health service 'out of the dark ages', promising more care closer to home. The urgent and emergency care plan was first promised in January, when ministers came under fire over 'catastrophically' long trolley waits. On Friday, health officials will promise to create a network of around 40 same-day emergency care and urgent treatment centres to deal with all but the most serious crises. The rapid rollout this year will see millions of patients encouraged to visit the centres instead of A&E. Health chiefs said the measures, which would cost £450 million, would 'resuscitate' the system. The units aim to focus on cases that are not life-threatening, with treatment and discharge of patients the same day, to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. The network is likely to include units sited next to A&Es. They will be able to carry out a raft of tests, dealing with deteriorations in chronic illnesses, and problems such as wound infections. Officials said the plans would mean 800,000 fewer patients each year waiting more than four hours at A&E. At least one in five people who attended A&E did not need urgent or emergency care at all, officials said, while a still larger number could fare better with help elsewhere. Mr Streeting has been inspired by a visit to Australia, where he saw same-day centres in action. He said far too many people were ending up in A&E for want of GP appointments, comparing the average £400 cost of an A&E visit with the £40 cost of a GP slot. New mental health centres and ambulances The plan will also include the rollout of up to 15 mental health crisis assessment centres, to divert such patients away from casualty units to specialist support. In addition, 500 new ambulances will be promised. The plan will also set out new ways of working, so paramedics can give the right help sooner after accessing patient data 'on the spot'. Currently, many ambulance crews are unable to find out the most basic details of patients' medical history, other than what they are told at the call-out. As a result, thousands of patients are automatically taken to hospital when, with the right information, they could be better treated elsewhere. Under a system of 'connected care records', paramedics will be able to access patients' treatment histories on smartphones, laptops and other devices. Mr Streeting said the plan would take the NHS 'out of the dark ages'. He told The Telegraph: 'Many patients who end up in A&E don't need to be there and could get better treatment elsewhere. 'By giving paramedics access to the latest technology on the go, they'll be able to make better decisions and deliver better outcomes for patients.' The Health Secretary said too many patients had ended up stuck on trolleys or facing 'unacceptably long waiting times' for ambulances, for want of care elsewhere. He said: 'Far too many patients are ending up in A&E who don't need or want to be there, because there isn't anywhere else available. Because patients can't get a GP appointment, which costs the NHS £40, they end up in A&E, which costs around £400; worse for patients and more expensive for the taxpayer.' He added that the plan would tackle ambulance handover delays and corridor care. Mr Streeting said: 'No patient should ever be left waiting for hours in hospital corridors or for an ambulance which ought to arrive in minutes. 'We can't fix more than a decade of underinvestment and neglect overnight. But through the measures we're setting out today, we will deliver faster and more convenient care for patients in emergencies,' he said. Sir Jim Mackey, the NHS chief executive, promised a 'radical change in approach'. He said: 'This major plan sets out how we will work together to resuscitate NHS urgent and emergency care, with a focus on getting patients out of corridors, keeping more ambulances on the road, and enabling those ready to leave hospital to do so as soon as possible.' A&E waiting time standards have not been met for more than a decade, while the 18-minute target for category 2 ambulance calls has never been hit outside the pandemic. The document sets out plans for 'making progress towards eliminating corridor care', amid growing concerns that patients are being treated in unsafe environments. It will say the number facing trolley waits of more than 12 hours should be slashed, so that fewer than 10 per cent of patients face such delays. Around 1.7 million attendances at A&E every year currently exceed this time frame. However, the language appears to have been watered down from an earlier draft of NHS plans, which promised 'elimination'. The plan will also aim to reduce ambulance handovers to less than 45 minutes. Officials said league tables would be used to drive improvements. Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the plan acknowledged the 'shameful situation' facing A&E patients. But he said the aim to cut trolley waits 'lacks ambition'. The senior A&E doctor expressed concern that introducing a maximum 45-minute ambulance handover could end up with more patients piled up in casualty departments. Mr Streeting is already at loggerheads with the British Medical Association, with resident doctors (previously known as junior doctors) threatening to strike, despite being awarded the highest pay rise of all public sector workers. The plan aims to drive up A&E performance to 78 per cent, up from 75 per cent this year, meaning 'over 800,000 people a month will receive more timely care'. It follows a relentless rise in pressures on services, with ambulance usage up by 61 per cent since 2010-11. Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said the investment was welcome, but said the plans risked 'missing the point' that so many people end up at A&E units because they could not get a GP appointment. She said: 'The system is broken, and this plan addresses the symptoms of a struggling system without tackling the root causes. It accepts that people are turning to A&E because they can't get GP appointments, but without imminently expanding access to timely support closer to home, there's a real risk of simply shifting the pressure elsewhere in the system.'
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
Footage shows drones smash into Putin's bombers during 'Pearl Harbour' attack
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Extraordinary new video footage gives an up-close view of Ukraine's 'Spider Web' strikes on Putin's nuclear bombers. Ukraine blew up scores of Russian nuclear-capable fighter planes in a mass drone attack on Sunday, targeting airfields thousands of miles away from the frontline. At least 40 fighter jets were hit by drones which were smuggled into Russia and then launched remotely off the back of trucks. Some of the planes damaged included were the A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, as well as An-12 and Il-78, according to the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU. Donald Trump said today he had a phone call with Putin in which the Russian President said Russia 'will have to respond to the recent attack'. In a post on social media, the US president said that Putin told him – 'very strongly' – that he 'will have to respond to recent attacks on the airfields.' Some commentators called it 'Russia's Pearl Harbour' and their 'blackest day in aviation'. In total Ukraine says 41 aircraft were damaged or destroyed with damage valued at up to £5 billion. This new video footage was shown as Putin held a video conference with other senior officials – the first time he had been seen publicly since Sunday. Other video at the time showed scores of strategic and nuclear bombers being hit at Olenya air base, in the Arctic, and Belaya base in Siberia. These airbases were home to vital military jets, which were relocated further north and east out of the strike zone of Ukraine's drones. Strikes also blasted Diaghilev airbase in Ryazan Oblast, and Ivanovo airbase in Ivanovo Oblast. The planes hit by Ukraine are expensive and vital parts of Russia's arsenal, with A-50 jets costing as much as £260million each. It emerged that a former clothes merchant who worked as a DJ on the side was the mastermind behind it all. Artem Tymofieiev, 37, is now the focus of a nationwide manhunt for orchestrating the attack involving a truck convoy carrying drones. Ukraine launched a new attack on a bridge in Crimea days after their 'Pearl Harbour' ambush on Russia. The SBU confirmed it blasted the underwater pillars of the Crimean Bridge on Monday night after a months-long operation. A detonation erupting underneath the bridge after 1,100kg worth of explosive devices had been covertly planted by SBU agents. The bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, is a personal project of Putin which links the peninsula, invaded by Russia in 2014, to the mainland. It came after civilian homes and buildings across Ukraine were hit in a wave of missile strikes. More Trending At least three people were killed and two wounded in shelling on the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region. One person was killed and another injured in the Kharkiv region as Putin's forces struck civilian areas, damaging a postal terminal and warehouse. Four people were injured as fires blazed in Odesa, including at a warehouse filled with food products. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Trump warns that Putin wants revenge for Ukraine's drone attacks MORE: Gang 'live-streamed arson attacks in London' for Wagner Group MORE: The UK is 'sleepwalking into a bloody ambush and may not be around in 2034'
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Trump says Putin told him Russia will respond to Ukrainian attack on airfields
The US president said in a social media post that 'it was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.' The call that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes was Mr Trump's first known with Mr Putin since May 19. Mr Trump said he and Mr Putin also discussed Iran's nuclear programme. Ukraine's Security Service gave more details on Wednesday about its weekend drone strike on Russian air bases, which it claimed destroyed or damaged 41 Russian aircraft, including strategic bombers. The agency claimed the planes struck included A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, An-12, and Il-78 aircraft, adding that artificial intelligence helped guide the drones thousands of kilometres from Ukraine. It also said it set off an explosion on Tuesday on the seabed beneath the Kerch Bridge, a vital transport link between Russia and illegally annexed Crimea, claiming it caused damage to the structure. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that there was no damage. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its troops have taken control of another village in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, on the border with Russia. Mr Putin announced on May 22 that Russian troops aim to create a buffer zone that might help prevent Ukrainian cross-border attacks. Since then, Russia's Ministry of Defence claims its forces have taken control of nine Sumy villages. Mr Trump says part of his call with Mr Putin was focused on Iran and 'the fact that time is running out on Iran's decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly!' Mr Trump said in a post on his social media site that he told Russia's president 'that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement'. He said Mr Putin suggested 'that he will participate in the discussions with Iran' and could perhaps 'be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion'. Mr Trump previously boasted that a major announcement on Iran was coming – but none has materialised. He suggested in his latest post that Iran has been slow-walking their decision 'and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!'. Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday criticised an initial proposal from the US in negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme, though he stopped short of entirely rejecting the idea of agreement with Washington. The remarks by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei coloured in the red line expressed over recent days – one that says Tehran refuses to give up enriching uranium in any possible deal with the US. That demand has been repeatedly made by American officials, including President Donald Trump, though it remains unclear just how much US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff brought it up in his initial proposal to Iran. But what Ayatollah Khamenei did not say in his speech matters as well. He did not reject the talks, which Iran views as crucial for its economy to lift some the crushing economic sanctions it faces. Ayatollah Khamenei also did not insist on any specific level of nuclear enrichment. Iran now enriches uranium up to 60% – a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who has led the talks with Mr Witkoff, said Tehran will soon offer its response to the US. Ayatollah Khamenei's speech Wednesday at the mausoleum of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini may serve as a preview. 'If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us,' he said. 'If we do not have enrichment, then we should extend our hand (begging) to the US.'
