Helen Morgan in emergency care crisis warning as ambulance delays revealed

Helen Morgan MP warned the Government risked prioritising hip replacements over heart attacks as fresh statistics showed ambulances waiting longer at A&Es in Shropshire than at any other hospitals in the country.

NHS data shows ambulances waited an average of 3 hours and 48 minutes to handover patients to Shrewsbury and Telford’s emergency departments on December 29, the latest date statistics are available for.

This was longer than any other hospital trust in England, the national average at 54 minutes, and 50 ambulances out of a total of 89 had to wait more than an hour.

On the same day, 121 hospital beds at Shrewsbury and Telford were blocked by patients who were medically fit for discharge. Thirty seven of these had been in hospital for more than three weeks.

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has been campaigning on the issue since her election three years ago and highlighted the ongoing problems as she led a debate on NHS backlogs in Parliament. The MP welcomed the Government’s efforts to cut waiting times for elective care but warned that this must not come at the expense of tackling the emergency care crisis which has led to overcrowded A&Es and queues of ambulances outside hospital.

She also called for faster action on social care, which will help free up space in hospital by moving patients from beds on wards into the community.

Since the end of November, ambulances at Shrewsbury and Telford hospital have been waiting an average of two hours to discharge patients. This is because of the pressure within the A&E departments where only half of patients were being seen within four hours in November.

Pressure on the NHS in Shropshire was already severe before a sharp increase in flu, Covid and winter illnesses led to the NHS declaring a critical incident over the weekend.

Helen Morgan called for and led the House of Commons debate on NHS backlogs where she highlighted that backlogs don’t just include waits for scans and operations but also waits for critical care that can mean the difference between life and death.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Helen Morgan said, “The situation in Shropshire right now demonstrates the scale of the crisis. The pressure is extreme on every aspect of healthcare and reflects the fact that in many cases rural areas are bearing the brunt of a national problem.

“The Conservatives’ legacy on the NHS is that it is on its knees. The Liberal Democrats understand that there is no magic quick fix to change that, but to give people the care they need and deserve we must look at the measures needed for the whole service, giving equal priority to both heart attacks and hip replacements.”

Helen also questioned Health Secretary Wes Streeting after the Government announced plans to cut waiting times by upgrading the NHS app and opening new diagnostic centres and surgical hubs.

Helen urged the Government to ensure that elderly patients without access to the app are given the same choice and control over treatment as those able to utilise the technology.