14Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
New amublance stats show service at breaking point

New amublance stats show service at breaking point

Parliamentary news
New NHS Ambulance Service statistics have shown that for category C1-C2 calls, the average response time in December 2021 for England was the second longest ever, after October 2021. In addition more than 36,000 people in England who called 999 with a “category 2” condition such as a stroke or a heart attack waited almost an hour for an ambulance in December. Responding, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “Ambulance services are at breaking point and it's the Government that is to blame. The Conservatives have run ambulance services into the ground with every single target being missed for the most severe cases. "Behind every single one of these statistics is a tragic personal story. "After months of failing to get a grip on the ambulance crisis, it’s…
Read More
14Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
6 million NHS waiting list – PM must apologise to patients being let down

6 million NHS waiting list – PM must apologise to patients being let down

Parliamentary news
Responding to the new statistics that show NHS waiting lists have grown to six million while A&E waiting times are the worst on record, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: "Patients are being catastrophically let down by this government's woeful neglect of the NHS. "A&E waiting times are the worst on record, while millions are being left waiting in pain for an operation. "Boris Johnson was repeatedly warned about the terrible pressures facing our NHS and frontline staff, but chose to bury his head in the sand. He must apologise now to the millions of patients being let down. "An urgent strategy is now needed to improve morale and recruit more healthcare staff, to tackle the backlog, cut waiting times and offer every patient the care they deserve."
Read More
07Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Helen Morgan challenges Boris Johnson in Parliament on local ambulance crisis

Helen Morgan challenges Boris Johnson in Parliament on local ambulance crisis

Parliamentary news
Within two hours of being sworn in as an MP, Helen Morgan has asked the Prime Minister a question in the House of Commons on the ambulance crisis in North Shropshire. In her question during the Coronavirus statement in Parliament, Helen asked the Prime Minister to commit to her calls for a “full and proper review of ambulance services by the care quality commission.” The Prime Minister refused to commit to such a review. Patients have been left waiting hours for ambulances to arrive in Shropshire, and in recent months, four local ambulance stations have closed in Shropshire despite the crisis. It has left residents with horror stories, with services being overstretched and struggling under pressure. Commenting after her question Helen Morgan MP said: “There is no time to waste…
Read More
07Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Johnson in denial over NHS staff shortages with military personnel sticking plaster

Johnson in denial over NHS staff shortages with military personnel sticking plaster

Parliamentary news
Responding to the news that 200 armed forces personnel have been drawn in to help in hospitals across London amidst the NHS staff shortage crisis, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “Whilst Conservative Ministers pat themselves on their backs for inaction, the ability of our health and care services to provide urgent care to patients is now in freefall. “The magnitude of the catastrophic staffing shortages in our NHS and care system is being laid bare. Boris Johnson seems to be in denial about the desperate situation in which our local health services are finding themselves. "Drawing in help from military personnel is just a temporary sticking plaster, it is not sustainable in the long-run. The Government needs to urgently ramp up the supply of lateral flow tests,…
Read More
05Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Ambulance crisis: “Appalling” that heart attack sufferers forced to make their own way to hospital

Ambulance crisis: “Appalling” that heart attack sufferers forced to make their own way to hospital

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports that ambulance trusts have begun asking patients with a stroke or a heart attack to get a lift to hospital with family and friends instead of waiting for an ambulance, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: “The idea that someone suffering a stroke or heart attack should or even could find a friend, family member or neighbour to drive them to A&E because an ambulance isn’t available is appalling. “It’s frankly shocking that it has come to this. Make no mistake that this is the result of an incompetent Conservative Government which has completely failed to get a handle on Omicron and which has run our health services into the ground for years and years. “It is clear the Government must direct more funding into…
Read More
05Jan 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Vaccines Minister hasn’t got a clue on staff shortages

Vaccines Minister hasn’t got a clue on staff shortages

Parliamentary news
Responding to Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup's comments this morning - in which she could not say how NHS trusts have declared a 'critical incident', nor how many former teachers have returned to teaching - Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: "If ever proof was needed that the Government is asleep at the wheel with this staff shortage crisis, the Vaccine Minister's non-answers this morning just about sum it up. "Our hospitals are at breaking point and schools are spread thin, yet hapless Ministers haven't got a clue about the true extent of the problems in these settings. "It's high time the Government gets a grip on this. Families deserve reassurance that their children's education won't be disrupted and that loved ones can get the care they need, when…
Read More
31Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Lib Dems: Call COBR meeting to address NHS covid staff crisis

Lib Dems: Call COBR meeting to address NHS covid staff crisis

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have demanded that Boris Johnson call an urgent COBR meeting to discuss measures to address the NHS Covid staffing crisis, as figures reveal a 31% rise over a week in Covid-related absences among NHS staff. The latest NHS figures reveal 24,632 NHS staff at hospital trusts in England were off for Covid-related reasons on 26 December, up almost a third from 18,829 the previous week. It comes as the chief executive of NHS Providers Chris Hopson warned this morning that the NHS does not currently have enough staff to run “surge hubs” being set up to treat Covid patients outside hospitals and that an “emergency staffing model” will be needed. Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP, said: “Today’s figures confirm the worst: hospital and ambulance services…
Read More
14Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Javid snubs meeting with West Mids ambulance trust despite warnings

Javid snubs meeting with West Mids ambulance trust despite warnings

Parliamentary news
The Health Secretary Sajid Javid has ignored requests for a meeting with his local ambulance trust in the West Midlands, despite warnings that record delays are posing a “catastrophic risk” to patients in the region. Board documents from the trust reveal that the Health Secretary was invited to a meeting over four months ago but has still not replied. It comes despite the local trust warning that record handover delays at the region’s hospitals are putting patients at risk of severe harm or even death, as it moved its risk rating to the highest possible level for the first time ever. The trust recently apologised to one 95-year old woman who was left waiting for 11 hours on the floor of her home for an ambulance with a suspected broken…
Read More
09Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Record hospital waiting lists: Conservative neglect leaves patients suffering

Record hospital waiting lists: Conservative neglect leaves patients suffering

Parliamentary news
Reacting to new statistics revealing that 5.98 million people are waiting for hospital treatment in England and that 10,646 patients waited more than 12 hours in A&E last month - both record highs - Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health and Social Care Daisy Cooper MP said: “Johnson’s Conservatives are running our NHS into the ground and these damning figures should shock them into a reverse drive. “No one should be stuck in A&E for hours or left waiting weeks for hospital treatment. "Waiting times were already at a record high before the pandemic hit, but covid has pushed an already overstretched health service to breaking point. "Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have neglected health services for years, and patients are suffering as a result. “Ministers must take urgent action to rescue our…
Read More
09Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Reverse ambulance station closures to stop deadly delays

Reverse ambulance station closures to stop deadly delays

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to provide funding to reverse ambulance station closures, as the latest figures reveal 8,000 patients were stuck for more than an hour in ambulances outside A&E in the last week alone. Daisy Cooper, the party’s Health and Social Care Spokesperson, has today also written to the chair of the Care and Quality Commission, urging him to launch an investigation into the causes and impacts of deadly ambulance delays, including station closures. These calls form part of an emergency five-point plan to tackle the growing crisis of ambulance delays that is leaving seriously ill patients waiting hours to be treated. In addition to reversing ambulance station closures and launching an investigation, the plan includes bringing in the army to help drive ambulances, passing…
Read More