Labour would draft in former nurses to help ease the burden on accident and emergency departments, Ed Miliband has said.
GPs could also be installed in hospitals to cool pressure on the straining service, the Labour leader added.
At least seven hospitals in England have declared a major incident status as they struggle with rising patient numbers.
Patients are facing long waits for beds, with others being left in hospital corridors while they wait to be seen.
One 81-year-old patient waited 11 hours for an ambulance after she collapsed at home and was then left on a trolley in a corridor as she waited to be treated at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital
The hospital has apologised, blaming "unprecedented demand".
ITV News Correspondent Paul Davies looks at the pressures facing health workers and the NHS:
Ed Miliband wants former nursing staff to be drafted in as part of a new five-point plan to ease the burden on accident and emergency.
Hospitals are saying there simply are not enough beds and trained medical staff for sick patients who need to be admitted.
With A&E waiting times slumping to their worst in 10 years, did your hospital make it on to the worst 10 list?