Labour slams 'shocking new low' as NHS posts worst A&E wait times on record
3 min read
Ministers have been accused of presiding over a "shocking new low" in NHS performance, as the health service posted its worst accident and emergency waiting times since records began.
Under NHS rules, 95% of patients are supposed to be admitted, transferred or discharged by hospitals within four hours of arrival at an A&E department.
But the latest figures show that just 84.6% of patients were seen within that time during March, down from 85% in February and a drop of more than 5% on the same period last year.
NHS England said the figures marked "the lowest performance since this collection began" and pointed out that the 95% target has not been met since July 2015.
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth seized on the figures, which he branded "a shocking new low for A&E departments" and accused ministers of "years of sustained underfunding" of the health service.
The Labour frontbencher added: “It’s now clearer than ever that we face a year-round crisis in our NHS, which places the very future of our NHS at risk and requires a sustainable long term investment plan.
"At the last election Labour offered an extra £45bn for health and social care across a parliament. Ministers must urgently bring forward the investment our NHS needs.”
Ex-Lib Dem Health Minister Norman Lamb meanwhile said the latest stats showed "the extraordinary pressure that hospitals are under across England", and called for "immediate action" to boost NHS funding.
Responding to the figures, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said: “We know that with the added pressure of flu and bad weather, demand on the NHS has continued to grow, and it is testament to the continued hard work and dedication of staff that, even with an increase in attendances, almost 800 more people were seen within 4 hours per day in 2017/18 compared to 2016/17."
The figures come as Theresa May mulls a fresh multi-year cash injection for the NHS, with the Prime Minister's plans set to be unveiled around the time of the health service's 70th birthday later this year.
New research published today meanwhile reveals a big shift among voters over how to fund such a spending boost.
Some 61% of adults told the British Social Attitudes survey they were willing to pay more to improve the NHS - up from 49% in 2016 and 41% in 2014.
Of those who are willing to pay more, some 35% said they would back a “separate tax that would go directly to the NHS,” while 25% said they would accept a hike in national insurance.
Pointing to the planned cash boost, the DHSC said today: “The Prime Minister and Health and Social Care Secretary have committed to a long term plan with a sustainable multi-year settlement for the NHS to help it manage growing patient demand, which will be agreed with NHS leaders, clinicians, and health experts."
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