12+ hour A&E waits: Helen Maguire calls on Chancellor to “winterproof" local health services

With over 14,000 people in Epsom & Ewell waiting 12 hours or more at A&E, local MP Helen Maguire calls on Chancellor to “winterproof” local health services

In Epsom, Ewell, Ashtead and Leatherhead, people have been waiting over 12 hours for A&E treatment a shocking 14,395 times so far this year.

It means that over 13% of patients at A&Es in Epsom & Ewell are waiting more than 12 hours for help.

Maguire said the figures show the Chancellor needs to “winterproof” local health services at the Budget, warning this is an issue of “life and death” for patients. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has previously estimated that long A&E delays led to around 14,000 excess deaths last year, or 268 a week.

Maguire and her colleagues in Parliament have called on the Chancellor to launch a new fund at the Budget and put an end to the annual winter chaos in the Health Service. The £1.5 billion ring-fenced fund would be allocated over the next four years to build resilience in hospital wards, A&E departments, ambulance services and patient discharging.

Maguire and other MPs are also calling for a wider funding boost for the NHS in next week’s Budget, which would help to increase the number of GPs, boost the number of NHS dentist appointments, and fix our crumbling hospitals like St Helier, which is in desperate need of upgrades.

Helen Maguire, MP for Epsom & Ewell, said:

“It is terrifying to think that my constituents regularly suffer these dangerously long delays. In many cases, getting seen quickly is a matter of life and death.

“The appalling legacy that the last Government has left our NHS cannot be understated. It is now up to this Government to rise to the challenge and protect people here in Epsom & Ewell from the potentially grave consequences of another winter crisis. This must start at the Budget with the Chancellor taking urgent steps to winterproof our local health services.”