Stephen Morgan MP has shared concerns following analysis which shows that around 121,000 people passed away having never received the treatment they were waiting for.
This figure, obtained by Labour under Freedom of Information requests, amount to double the number of people who died on waiting lists in 2017/18, when the figure stood at around 60,000. This is also higher than in 2021, when the country was still in the midst of the Covid pandemic.
The NHS constitution states that patients should not wait more than 18 weeks for treatment, but almost half of patients in England today wait longer than that to receive healthcare.
Across the UK people now face the longest waiting lists in NHS history, with a record 7.6 million people waiting for treatment.
NHS England figures reveal that 51,902 patients were waiting for non-urgent treatment at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust (PHT) at the end of April, up from 50,143 in March, and 46,298 in April 2022.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to cut NHS waiting lists, but there are 600,000 more patients waiting for NHS care today than when he became Prime Minister.
Commenting on the statistics, Portsmouth South’s Stephen Morgan MP, said:
“The latest figures are a shocking indictment of a Government that has failed to care for our NHS and, in turn, failed to care for the people who rely on it. Increasing deaths on waiting lists are undeniably symptomatic of an NHS on its knees.
Portsmouth people who are in pain should not have to ensure this for more than a second longer than necessary. Instead, they are facing additional weeks and months.
The last Labour government reduced waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks. The next Labour government will secure the future of our NHS, providing the staff it needs to treat patients on time. That’s what Portsmouth patients deserve”.
Wes Streeting MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, added:
“Record numbers of people are spending their final months in pain and agony, waiting for treatment that never arrives.
“The basic promise of the NHS – that it will be there for us when we need it – has been broken. The longer the Conservatives are in office, the longer patients will wait.
“Only Labour can rescue the NHS from this crisis and restore it to good health. We will train the staff needed to treat patients on time again, and reform the service to make it fit for the future.”
Mr Morgan has been speaking up for local health services and standing up for frontline staff in Parliament through lobbying for our NHS to be properly funded, staffed, and resourced, and will continue to pay visits to local NHS services to listen to concerns.
This Saturday the city MP will be hosting his latest Big Conversation pop-up event on the priority of caring for our local NHS. To find out more visit www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/have-your-say-stephens-morgan-mps-big-conversation-on-caring-for-our-local-nhs
