“Ten days to save the NHS”: 12 hour A&E waits rise 100-fold since 2019

EMBARGO: 00.01 Monday 24th June

• Ed Davey declares there are “ten days to save the NHS” as July 4th’s polling day approaches

• Number of patients waiting 12 hours or more in A&E have risen 100-fold since 2019

• Around 12,000 people set to wait 12 hours or more at A&E in next ten days 

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has declared that there are just “ten days to save the NHS” before polling day, as new figures reveal the number of people waiting 12 hours or more to be admitted to A&E has risen over 100-fold since 2019.

The analysis of figures from NHS England shows a shocking 439,411 people waited 12 hours to be admitted to A&E in 2023/24, up from just 3,262 in 2019/20. An estimated 12,039 people will wait more than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E in the next ten days according to current trends.

These figures cover so-called “trolley waits”, which measure the time a patient has to wait after a decision to admit them to hospital. Research has found that long waits in A&E can have a serious impact on patients’ health and can even be deadly. Earlier this year, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimated that there were more than 268 excess deaths a week related to waits of 12-hours or longer in A&E last year.

Ed Davey said that “the future of the NHS will be on the ballot on 4th July,” and that this election was a chance to end the “shocking scenes of people having to wait hours on end in A&E.”

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a £9 billion boost to health and social care services. This would include increasing GP numbers by 8,000 to give patients a legal right to see their GP within seven days or 24-hours if in urgent need, and an end to ambulance handover delays.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“There are now ten days left to save the NHS. This election is a chance to end the shocking scenes of people having to wait 12 hours or more in A&E, often in pain and in overcrowded waiting rooms.

“Years of chaos and neglect under this Conservative Government have left the NHS on its knees. Patients are being catastrophically let down.

“The Liberal Democrats have put forward the boldest plan of any party to fix the NHS and care. We would make sure everyone can see a GP when they need one, invest in hospitals and ambulance services, and fix the crisis in social care to take pressure off the health service. The future of the NHS is on the ballot on 4th July. Every vote for the Liberal Democrats will be a vote for a local champion who will stand up for their local health services.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Analysis of 12 hour A&E waits can be found here. Figures are for the financial year, from April to March. Source: NHS England: A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions, Monthly A&E time series.

Royal College of Emergency Medicine research on excess deaths related to A&E delays can be found here.

Liberal Democrat emergency care proposals:

• Boosting GP access and fixing social care to ease the pressure on hospitals and ambulance services

• Increasing the number of staffed hospital beds by 1,000 to end excessive handover delays 

• Publishing accessible, localised reports of ambulance response times

The Liberal Democrat manifesto spending package for the NHS, public health and social care totals £9.4 billion a year in 2028-29. It includes:

• An extra £3.7bn a year in day-to-day NHS spending, including funding to:

  • Increase the number of full-time equivalent GPs by 8,000, half by boosting recruitment and half from retaining more experienced GPs.

  • Boost cancer survival rates by investing in research and treatment, including radiotherapy machines, cancer nurses and the MHRA.

  • Increase the number of staffed hospital beds.

  • Improve mental health services, including talking therapies and walk-in hubs for young people.

  • Bring dentists back to the NHS from the private sector by fixing the broken NHS dental contract.

• An extra £1.1bn a year of capital investment in hospitals and other NHS infrastructure and equipment.

• An extra £1bn a year for public health, by increasing the Public Health Grant.

• An extra £3.7bn a year for social care, to:

  • Introduce free personal care based on the model introduced by the Liberal Democrats in government in Scotland in 2002, so that provision is based on need, not ability to pay.

  • Introduce a higher Care Workers’ Minimum Wage, set £2 above the minimum wage.