6,785 12 hour A&E waits in Torbay and South Devon as local MP calls on Chancellor to “winterproof” local health services

6,785 12 hour A&E waits in Torbay and South Devon as local MP calls on Chancellor to “winterproof” local health services 

• There have already been 6,785 12 hour A&E waits in Torbay so far this year
• Torbay MP has warned this is “life and death” for their constituents and called on the Chancellor to announce ring-fenced funding at the Budget to “winterproof” local health services

In Torbay and South Devon, there have been a shocking 6,785 waits of 12 hours or more in Torbay’s A&E so far this year, research by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed as Torbay MP has called on the Chancellor to “winterproof” local health services at the Budget.

It means that 11.4% of all attendances at A&Es in Torbay and South Devon see a patient waiting 12 hours or longer.

Steve Darling, MP for Torbay, 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.

The Liberal Democrats have called on the Chancellor to launch a new fund at the Budget to put an end to the annual winter crises 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. The Party is also calling for a wider funding boost for the NHS in the Budget, including funding to increase the number of GPs, boost the number of NHS dentist appointments and fix crumbling hospitals.

Steve added:

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

“The appalling legacy that the Conservative Party has left our NHS cannot be understated. They set our health service up for winter crisis after winter crisis, with patients left strewn across hospital corridors, unable to get a bed due to their shameful neglect.

“It is now down to the new government to rise to this challenge and protect people here in Torbay from the potentially grave consequences of yet another winter crisis.

“That must start at the Budget with the Chancellor taking urgent steps to winterproof our local health services and ensure this is the last winter crisis any of us here in Torbay have to endure.”