Bath Labour’s parliamentary candidate Ollie Middleton has blamed the ongoing problems being seen at the RUH on cuts to services that local people were depending on.
Cuts to frontline social care and budget reductions in real terms to the NHS have meant that more and more people are going to A&E because they have no other place to go.
Last month, RUH and the South Western Ambulance Service both considered declaring major incidents amid a backlog of patients waiting to be dealt with.
Ten hospitals have declared major incidents in recent weeks because of the NHS crisis.
Commenting, Ollie Middleton said: “Frontline social care services are disappearing and waiting times to see a GP are rising.
“The NHS is in crisis and here in Bath, we are seeing firsthand the effects that the Tories and Lib Dems’ policies are having on vital services that we need”.
“Both parties decided to close the walk-in centre in Bath and replace it with a cheaper alternative, which has meant that patients now go straight to A&E. The NHS simply cannot cope.”
“In May, people in Bath have a clear choice – do they want to see the NHS as we know it disappear under the Tories, or do they want to see 20,000 more nurses, 8,000 more GPs, 5,000 more care workers and 3,000 more midwives funded through levies on tobacco companies, clamping down on tax avoiders and introducing a mansion tax”.
“It is vital that we show our gratitude to NHS staff working extremely hard under difficult circumstances”.
The RUH’s Chief Executive, James Scott, apologised for the recent problems and released this statement:
“The RUH has been incredibly busy over the festive period – this has continued this week. For example, we have seen a 17% increase in emergency ambulances coming to the RUH during the Christmas week, compared to the same week last year.
“Despite this pressure, ambulances have been able to bring patients promptly into the Emergency Department.
“We are sorry that some patients have had to remain in the Emergency Department for longer than the 4 hour target. However, our priority has been the safety of our patients and the Emergency Department, and whilst our patients’ experiences may not always have been what we aim to provide, at no time was their care or safety compromised.
“We also need to apologise to patients who have had their planned surgery or diagnostic procedure cancelled.
“Unfortunately, some of the wards we have for planned surgery are full of emergency patients.
“A major challenge facing the RUH has been caused by the increase in the number of inpatients on our wards that no longer need to be in an acute hospital but need support from other services.
“We have been working closely with our partners who provide social care and health services in the community and this needs to continue in the coming days so that the hospital can get back to normal working.
“Our staff have just been fantastic. We expect a lot of them at the best of times but they have really gone above and beyond to deliver safe care over the festive period.”
