More staff in A & E

[Library pic © Jess Taylor]

Bath’s MP, Wera Hobhouse is urging the government to focus on boosting staff in A&E departments following last week’s announcement that NHS England would be abolished.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England would be abolished and brought under the government’s democratic control to “slash unnecessary bureaucracy”. Mrs Hobhouse welcomed this announcement, describing it as a “step in the right direction” to fix the crisis in the NHS. 

However, Mrs Hobhouse, the Vice-Chair of the Emergency Care APPG, also drew the Health Secretary’s attention to the dangerous situation in Accident and Emergency departments across the country.

In the House of Commons, she particularly emphasised the staffing crisis facing A&E and emergency care services, suggesting that gaps in staffing were putting patients’ safety at risk.

She then pushed the government to focus on increasing permanent, consultancy and training places for staff in A&E to help reduce the strain on emergency care and the risk to patients.

The Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, agreed that the extent of waiting times in A&E departments was unacceptable and put patients’ lives in danger. He condemned the “grim reality” of corridor care, calling it a “shameful situation” and apologised to patients and staff who had experienced those conditions. 

The Health Secretary also gave assurances to the Bath MP that the government would set out an emergency care improvement plan to deliver year-on-year improvements. However, he did not directly address Mrs Hobhouse’s concern with staff shortages in A&E departments.  ​​

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, said: 

“The government’s decision to slash unnecessary bureaucracy and scrap NHS England is a step in the right direction. I hope that this will allow us to focus on taking forward the major reforms staff and patients have long been crying out for.

“But we must keep patients’ safety and staff’s wellbeing at the heart of these reforms. Cutting the red tape will make little difference if we don’t address the enormous gaps in staffing. 

“As the Vice-Chair of the Emergency Care APPG, I know all too well how these staffing shortages impact A&E departments. We must deliver the changes staff need so patients can get the care they deserve.”