Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Comments on NHS Performance Statistics

The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Health Secretary, on 12 November 2020.

The winter has come early for the NHS with the worst October on record for trolley waits and almost 140,000 people now waiting in pain and distress beyond a year for a treatment. Trolley waits at these levels are unacceptable at the best of times but in a Covid pandemic when infection control is so crucial this is dangerous and concerning for patients and staff.

Years of underfunding, bed cuts and understaffing left our NHS exposed when the Coronavirus epidemic hit us.

It is vital that the upcoming Spending Review delivers the resources our health and care services need to bring waiting times down, provide quality Covid care and lead the roll out of a vaccine.