Lib Dems on hospital transfer wait row

LOCAL Liberal Democrats have waded into the “NHS in crisis” row, releasing figures which show hundreds of patients are stuck in ambulances for 30 minutes or more before being admitted to hospital.

The statistics, taken from University Hospitals Leicester covering November 20 to December 31, reveal 804 patients faced waits of half-an-hour of more in ambulances outside A&E, 564 faced waits of over an hour.

In the week running up to New Year’s Eve, some 360 patients faced waits of over half an hour and 178 spent at least an hour waiting in ambulances outside casualty.

The NHS guideline transfer time limit is just 15 minutes.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a penny on income tax for the NHS and care, which would raise £6 billion a year, around £68 million of which would go to Leicestershire and Rutland health services based on current allocations.

Leicestershire Liberal Democrat County Councillor Michael Mullaney said: “These figures show the NHS crisis in Leicestershire is worsening. Hundreds of patients are being left stuck in ambulances outside A&Es

“Every ambulance stuck outside an A&E department could well be needed by another patient wait- ing desperately at home for help.

“Each day seems to bring yet more bad news about the state of the health service. The blame for this lies firmly at the government’s door.

“Ministers refused to provide the funding that top NHS officials said was necessary and now patients are paying the price.

“Here in Hinckley we’ve had threats of closure hanging over Hinckley Hospital on Mount Road, without any promise of a replacement facility like a walk-in-centre for our growing population.

“The Liberal Democrats will give the NHS and care the extra cash they desperately need by putting a penny on income tax, which would raise £68 million a year for health services in Leicestershire and Rutland alone.”

At the start of the month an angry daughter whose dad waited for three hours in an ambulance outside A&E wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May.

Annie White, 24, from Hinckley, penned the letter on Facebook along with a video showing ambulances queuing up outside Leicester Royal Infirmary on January 2.

She blasted funding levels which she said were leaving the health service ‘overstretched’ and ‘unsupported’.

The Government says it has and will pledge more money to the NHS. In the autumn budget speech last year Chancellor Philip Hammond spoke about pumping in £10 billion over the course of this Parliament but also said: “I am making an additional commitment of resource funding of £2.8 billion to the NHS in England. £350 million immediately to allow trusts to plan for this winter.

“And £1.6 billion in 2018-19, with the balance in 19-20, taking the extra resource into the NHS next year to £3.75 billion in total.

“Meaning that it will receive a £7.5 billion increase to its resource budget over this year and next year.”