Nearly 67,000 NHS patients have had to spend up to 12 hours waiting on hospital trolleys before they were given a bed during the first half of 2012, new figures from the government, quoted by the Telegraph, reveal.
The numbers, disclosed by the Nursing Times, mark an increase of almost a third compared to the same period in 2011, when 51,000 had to wait for between four and 12 hours before being admitted to hospital for treatment.
Despite the sharp increase, the Department of Health claims that care in A&E departments is improving, explaining that these are not in fact waiting times but include “assessment and treatment”. However, Tim Curry, assistant head of UK nursing at the Royal College of Nursing, says the figures are “startling”.
Meanwhile, the Mirror has revealed that NHS waiting lists have been growing by over 2,000 people every month since the current government came to power. While there were 2,573,895 people on the waiting lists in May 2010, the current number stands at 2,637,799, a rise of 60,000 people.
Furthermore, the number of those who have spent more than 18 weeks waiting is also on the rise, from 20,662 to 21,850, the paper says. Campaigners believe this can be attributed to the government policy of budget cuts and major re-organisation of the NHS.
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