Gideon Amos demands recue plan for local health services

The MP for Taunton and Wellington, Gideon Amos, has called on the government to implement a rescue plan for local health services.

His comments came after statistics – released by NHS England – showed the number of people who waited more than 12 hours from arriving at A&E to being admitted, transferred or discharged in October of this year.

In Somerset, 510 people waiting to be seen did so for over 12 hours – out of a total attendance of 12,915.

The Royal College of Medicine has warned that delays to accessing care, or to being admitted to hospital, can “increase a patient’s risk of harm and death” - even after they are discharged from emergency services.

Mr Amos wants the rescue plan for local health services to include immediately exempting GPs and care providers from the Chancellor’s NICs hike.

This would help reduce pressure on overstretched hospitals and ambulance services.

Mr Amos said: “Twelve or more hours is a huge amount of time to be waiting in any A&E department.

“By ending NHS dentistry in the county and running down our GPs, the last Conservative government stoked up a crisis in hospitals which, for many, have become the only place left to go. They’ve got a lot to answer for.

“Time can be critical when you’re waiting for treatment and long waits in A&E here in Somerset can be dangerous.

"The new Government must urgently get a grip of this crisis and bring forward a plan to rescue our struggling health services.

“It’s great to see the money allocated to the NHS in the Budget but I’m demanding that Musgrove Park Hospital gets every penny it needs from that funding.

“At the same time, Ministers must urgently exempt GPs, care homes, and other health and care providers from their National Insurance tax hike, which risks making things even worse."