Bath’s Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse has challenged government ministers to visit places suffering the most during the current NHS crisis and witness the ongoing issues at A&E departments.
During Parliament’s Christmas Adjournment Debate, the MP raised how earlier in the year she had led a debate on ambulance and emergency department waiting times after the Royal College of Emergency Medicine published a report.
She said that three years ago, an ambulance taking more than 50 minutes to reach a stroke patient would have been a national scandal, but it has now “become the norm”.
Wera Hobhouse commended the work of the South Western Ambulance Service for its ongoing efforts through challenging times.
She has called on the Government to urgently fund thousands of extra beds to stop handover delays in A&E so that ambulances can get back on the road as quickly as possible.
The MP said: “The public needs confidence that our precious NHS will be able to look after them this winter and in the future.
“Recently, I have heard one heart-wrenching story after another of patients who have suffered during this Government made NHS crisis.
“This has to stop. The Government must urgently come forward with a long-term workforce plan to give assurances that the NHS will be able to look after us for many years to come.
“The Government’s years of neglect and negligence towards the NHS is starting to bite and it is rightly worrying many of my constituents.
“We need a plan and we need action and that has to happen immediately.”
