I’ve written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock MP, to outline my concerns about growing waiting times for patients seeking access to NHS care.

Last year, 2.8 million people waited over 4 hours in A&E; 540,000 patients waited over 18 weeks for urgent treatment; and NHS waiting lists grew to over 4.3 million.

The Government’s refusal to guarantee key service standards has let down the 28% of patients with mental health referrals who never received therapy – as well as the nearly 27,000 patients who waited over 62 days for cancer treatment in 2018.

I believe that Tory austerity is behind these unacceptable performance levels. There are now 17,000 fewer hospital beds than there were in 2010; and NHS trusts nationally face a £1.23 billion operating deficit.

I have asked Mr Hancock to outline how he intends to turn this situation around, to better serve the millions of people who rely on the NHS for treatment every year.

You can find out more about Labour’s policies to rescue our National Health Service here: https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/healthcare-for-all/