Isla Defty, Leeds Socialist Party
In December, A&E waiting times were the highest since records began in 2010. 54,532 people waited longer than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E.
This is a 44.1% increase from November. And an increase of 355% from November 2021!
Worst ever
The NHS target is that 95% of patients should be seen within four hours of arriving in A&E. But less than 50% of patients are being seen within that time – the lowest this figure has ever dropped to.
On top of excruciating waiting times for patients in pain, the conditions patients are waiting in are horrifying. A 72-year-old woman spent three days being treated in a hospital corridor waiting for a ward bed to become available.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, admitted that people were dying waiting to receive urgent treatment. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimates that 300 to 500 people are dying every single week due to ambulance and A&E delays.
Yet, the government refuses to do anything. Dr Ian Higginson, Royal College of Emergency Medicine vice-president said: “The organisations and political leaders who have the power and the ability to make change are simply trying to push back and… not accept that there’s a real problem”.
Instead, the Tories are choosing to attack the healthcare workers, desperately trying to save lives, who have asked for a pay rise.
