Local MPs Rushanara Ali and Jim Fitzpatrick today expressed grave concern at latest A&E figures which show that record numbers of patients are waiting longer than four hours to be seen at the Royal London Hospital. Most recent published figures reveal that the proportion of patients waiting an unacceptable amount of time at A&E at the Whitechapel hospital is now double the national average.

The news follows intense national debate into the state of the NHS in England, with the NHS posting its worst waiting times in a decade. Labour has made calls for David Cameron to hold an ‘emergency summit’ to find solutions to the crisis.

The most recent NHS Winter Pressure statistics show that under this Government:

• The NHS has missed its target of seeing 95% of A&E patients in under 4 hours in all but one week since August last year;
• The A&E department at Royal London Hospital has been hit harder than the national average, with almost 15% of patients not being seen within four hours – double the national average.
• 1.25 million people across England waited for longer than 4 hours at A&E in 2014;

Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, said:

“These figures will shock many people in Tower Hamlets and across England, who rely on our NHS at times of need. Yet these figures are no surprise. Having seen our GP surgeries threatened with closure, we know that Tory cuts to frontline services and social care have been disastrous. Our local doctors, nurses and other NHS workers do fantastic work, but are not being given the resources or support to meet demand. During the last five years, the Government has had warning after warning about the disastrous effect of its £3 billion top-down re-organisation on the NHS. These winter figures show once and for all that Labour is the only party which will support our NHS to provide the outstanding care it can provide.”

Jim Fitzpatrick, MP for Poplar and Limehouse, said:
 
“It's clear the NHS needs more resources. Staff are working heroically and we are all proud of the new Royal London at Whitechapel. The Mansion Tax is one way to secure that funding.”