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.
The British Red Cross has stepped in to transport some patients home after they were discharged from A&E in Sheffield, where Deputy Prime Minister's Nick Clegg is an MP.
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said they were currently facing an "unusual demand" and were very busy at this time.
They are using the charity to help transport patients who are fit enough to leave A&E, but the Red Cross is not providing health care to patients, the hospital's duty matron said.
Andy Peers, British Red Cross operations manager for Yorkshire said the charity had "highly trained volunteers and an extensive fleet of ambulance vehicles" that regularly help the NHS in times of high demand.
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?