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The number of patients waiting over four hours at stretched London hospitals has soared as the Tories close accident and emergency units, NHS figures revealed yesterday.
Almost 200,000 patients were caught in growing queues over the last year — a massive 18 per cent increase on 2012/13.
And all but one of London A&Es have failed to meet the waiting time target of seeing 95 per cent of patients within four hours.
Labour’s London Assembly group pointed out the figures came soon after two A&E units were closed.
Three more are scheduled to shut soon and there are discussions over the future of a further three. Two units are also set to be downgraded.
Labour group health spokesman Dr Onkar Sahota AM told Tory Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and London Mayor Boris Johnson to wake up to the crisis.
He said: “We were told that closing A&Es wouldn’t lead to longer waiting times, but the evidence shows that Londoners are waiting longer to be seen.
“These figures are a damning indictment of the failure to properly plan our NHS services.
“Last year we all celebrated the NHS’ 65th birthday. One year on, the government’s botched top-down reorganisation is putting severe pressure on our local services.”
The latest alarming figures come just two weeks after an expert review funded by the Unite union warned that London’s NHS has reached crisis point.
Cuts to GP numbers and community care services have piled pressure on A&E, the report found.
Unite national health officer Barrie Brown called the latest figures “very worrying.”
“The A&E departments are under increased pressure because of the government’s decision to suck £20 billion pounds in so-called efficiency savings out of the NHS during the course of this Parliament,” he said.
“More resources need to be pumped into the health service in London to meet growing demand — and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt needs to review the situation as a matter of urgency.”
Unite has called for a review of ambulance services and a democratic London health authority as part of an 18 point plan to turn around ailing services.
