A&Es hit with worst summer waits on record and 12+ hour waits increase by over 20%
EMBARGO: Immediate Release
Liberal Democrat analysis of NHS stats published today (13th August) has revealed the worst summer on record for 12+ hour waits across A&Es in England, with 302,985 12+ hour waits in June and July compared to 252,000 last year - an increase of over 20%. The statistics have also revealed nearly 100,000 people were treated in hospital corridors in one month.
In his resignation letter in May, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting claimed that A&E waiting times were improving. However, NHS waiting time statistics published today (13th August) have shown that this is not the case: over 50,000 more people have faced a 12-hour, or longer, waiting time in A&E this summer compared to the previous year. In July alone 2,300 patients a day experienced corridor care in emergency departments, with a total of 94,000 instances of corridor care in A&E and on hospital wards. Corridor care can lead to shocking scenes of elderly patients left for hours in their own filth, without food or water, and even of patients dying on corridors undiscovered for hours.
Streeting also claimed that the Labour Government surpassed its waiting times target, and that waiting lists fell by 110,000 in March. However, this “historic” improvement appears to have been a one-off, with waiting lists in May reaching 7.28m, and June 7.27m - the highest levels so far this year and more than reversing the March reduction.
The Liberal Democrats argue that these figures show the Labour Government is not doing enough to fix the perma-crisis affecting the NHS. They’ve warned that cuts to the share of spending on GPs have seen more and more people turn to A&E in desperation, and are calling on Andy Burnham’s Health Secretary Yvette Cooper to change approach. In January, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey set out the party’s plan to end 12-hour A&E waits within a year and tackle the scandal of patients being treated in hospital corridors, through investment in social care and GPs.
Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP, said:
"Labour isn’t working for our NHS. These devastating figures reveal the reality of patients across the country facing unacceptable, dangerous delays in emergency rooms, while ministers insult them with claims of progress. Behind every single one of the 302,000 long waits this summer is a loved one left suffering in an A&E waiting room, or on a trolley in a corridor with no privacy, dignity or faith in our healthcare system.
“The Liberal Democrats have set out a clear plan to end these agonising 12-hour A&E waits within a year and end the scandal of corridor care once and for all. It is clear that current measures aren’t cutting it. Yvette Cooper must act immediately and make the emergency changes our NHS desperately needs before we head into another brutal winter."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
NHS Stats published today here:
12-hour waits are using the ECDS measure. Analysis here
In A&E there were 71,309 instances of corridor care across the month of July. A further 22,553 received treatment in cramped corridors after they’d been admitted.
Liberal Democrat £1.5bn plan to end 12-hour A&E waits within a year and tackle the scandal of patients being treated in hospital corridors detailed here.
Wes Streeting’s resignation letter here.
