Wes Streeting responds to figures showing ambulance response times and A&E waits are the worst on record

Wes Streeting MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to new figures showing that ambulance response times and A&E waits are the worst on record, said:

“The NHS is in the biggest crisis in its history. The terrifying truth is that patients in an emergency can no longer be sure the NHS will be there for them.

“Heart attack and stroke victims are routinely waiting over three hours for an ambulance, when every second counts. 24 hours in A&E is not just a TV programme, it is the grim reality for too many patients. Too many lives are being lost as a result.

“After 13 years of Conservative mismanagement of the NHS, expecting them to fix this crisis is like asking the arsonist to put out the fire they started - it is not going to happen.

“Labour will provide the biggest expansion of NHS staff in history to treat patients on time, and reform the health service to make it fit for the future. We will train 7,500 more doctors a year, 10,000 more nurses and midwives every year, double the number of district nurses qualifying, and 5,000 more health visitors, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status.”