Stephen Morgan MP visited South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) at their regional hub in Otterbourne near Winchester to hear from staff firsthand on the challenges being faced and in response to concerns over life threatening waiting times.
Earlier this year it was revealed that, in December 2022, the average wait time for Category 2 ambulance calls – emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes – was 1 hour and 33 minutes. The target is 18 minutes.
Record ambulance waiting times are symptomatic of a national health service in crisis, with different parts of the system – from social care to hospitals – under severe strain, putting patients’ lives at risk.
Handover delays, the time spent by ambulances waiting outside of hospitals due to lack of capacity, were also highlighted to Mr Morgan by staff as a key driver of increased waiting times.
The Portsmouth South representative paid tribute to hardworking staff who are facing ‘extreme pressure’ to meet increased demand for an already under-resourced service.
SCAS serves a population of over 7 million, including Portsmouth, and answers over 500,000 urgent calls a year, averaging 1,370 per day.
The City MP has called on the Government to listen to the concerns of frontline staff and act to prevent patients further suffering from the consequences of Tory mismanagement.
Following his visit, Stephen Morgan MP said:
“I want to pay tribute to frontline staff who have been working hard to deliver compassionate care to Portsmouth people when they most need it, despite not having enough capacity or resources to do so.
It was helpful to see this in action on my visit to the control rooms at Otterbourne, to feedback the concerns of constituents and to thank the SCAS team for their professionalism and dedication.
Patients deserve better than the life-threatening crisis this Government has created.
I will continue to do all I can to raise these issues in Parliament and protect our precious NHS from further collapse”.
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.
He has also taken has taken a range of actions to improve Portsmouth resident’s access to emergency care, including lobbying for funding to secure a new emergency department at QA hospital, and holding the Government to account on the pressures facing health and social care services in the city.
