A good day to bury bad news – NHS waiting times scrapped

The Labour Party has accused the government of trying to “bury bad news” yesterday when MPs and the media were distracted by the second ‘meaningful vote’ on Theresa May’s Brexit deal, which ended in failure – again.

Addressing the Commons, Labour’s health spokesperson Jonathan Ashworth said: “You may have seen today that NHS England has announced the trialling of the abolition of the four-hour waiting time target in A&E departments.

“The four-hour target allowed the last Labour government to deliver some of the lowest waiting times in history and it hasn’t been met under this government since July 2015 and, indeed, 2.8 million patients waited beyond four hours in A&E last year.

“Getting rid of this target should be based on clear medical evidence, not pressure from Downing Street. Would it not have been a basic courtesy for the Secretary of State for Health to come to the House today and offered a statement?”

 

 

Ashworth tweeted – “After years of Tory austerity, understaffing, cuts and privatisation more patients are waiting longer in A&E and for treatment. And now they want to ditch the targets.”

 

 

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