People dying due to 'appalling' Shropshire A&E wait times, says MP
People are dying because of "appalling" A&E waiting times in Shropshire, an MP has said after "shocking" data was revealed.
NHS England statistics, released for the first time, show that 1,885 people waited more than 12 hours from arriving at A&E to being admitted, transferred or discharged.
It means one in five patients (21.6%) waited over a dozen hours at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford in February, and makes the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB the worst-performing area for A&E delays in all of England.
These long A&E waits can have serious consequences for patients. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has warned that “evidence shows delays to care and long waits to admission to hospital increase a patient’s risk of harm and death”, even after they leave A&E.
North Shropshire's Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan said: “These shocking figures lay bare the appalling extent of A&E delays in Shropshire. People are dying waiting for the emergency treatment they desperately need and that is not fair on patients, not fair on families and not fair on the NHS staff doing their best to save lives.
“Anyone who has been to A&E recently will know how scary the situation has become with corridors and children’s rooms crammed full of patients suffering in pain."
She added: “The Conservative government has ignored warning sign after warning sign and let the NHS crisis spiral out of control.
“The Liberal Democrats are calling for an urgent rescue plan for our local health services. If patients could see their GP when they need to or get the care they need at home, it would free up hospital resources to treat people far more quickly.”
