MP, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary,
responding to NHS waiting times data, said:
“Rishi Sunak has failed on the NHS. He's missed his own targets
to cut ambulance waits and A&E waits. Patients with suspected
heart attacks or strokes are waiting almost double the safe
amount of time, when every minute matters.
“Waiting lists are still 320,000 longer than when he became Prime
Minister, despite his promise to cut them.
“Doctors have said that patients in desperate need of care have
been left waiting for 24 hours in A&E, while relatively
healthy patients have been seen faster in order to hit this
4-hour target. If only Rishi Sunak was as desperate to turn
around the NHS for real as he is to spin the stats.
“Only Labour has a plan for the investment and reform the NHS
needs. To beat the backlog we will provide an extra two million
operations and appointments at evenings and weekends, paid for by
clamping down on tax dodgers.”
Ends
Notes
Doctors have said that patients in desperate need of care have
been left waiting for 24 hours in A&E, while relatively
healthy patients have been seen faster in order to hit this
4-hour target https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/22/nhs-doctors-urgent-emergency-cases-bonus-targets/
Average category 2 ambulance waiting times for 2023/24 were 36
minutes and 15 seconds, double the safe waiting standard of 18
mins, and well above the Government's interim target of 30 mins.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/ambulance-quality-indicators-data-2023-24/
74% of patients waited less than 4 hours in A&E, below the
95% safe standard and the 76% interim target the government set
for March 2024
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2023-24/
Waiting lists are only down this month because the Government
have removed patients waiting for community services for the
data. Otherwise, they would be stagnant.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2023-24/#Feb24
