Thank you for contacting me about Accident and Emergency (A&E) waiting times.
I recognise that A&E services are strained. It is disappointing to see the latest NHS figures showing that 68.9 per cent of patients in November 2022 were seen within four hours in A&E Departments across England, compared to 69.3 per cent in the previous month.
Please be assured that the Government will make improving ambulance waiting times and reducing the backlog of care a key priority over the coming months.
NHS England and Improvement has recently announced steps to help the NHS prepare for Winter 2022/23, by increasing hospital bed space and increasing the number of NHS 111 and 999 call handlers. In particular, I want to highlight that the NHS will increase the number of general and acute beds by 7,000, which will include new hospital beds and virtual wards where patients will be treated at home with NHS equipment or assistance.
The Government has also committed to urgent action to free up beds and reduce long waits in accident and emergency through the £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund. An additional £200 million has been allocated to help the NHS buy up beds in the community, so that thousands of patients can be safely discharged from hospital. This will help free up hospital beds so that people be admitted quicker from accident and emergency to wards, reducing pressure on emergency departments.
The Government has recently published its Urgent and Emergency Care Plan alongside an investment of £1 billion to deliver 5,000 more hospital beds compared to the numbers originally planned for 2022-23, and to put over 800 more ambulances on the road. This will speed up discharge from hospitals, free up beds for patients needing urgent and emergency care and, ultimately, reduce pressures on hospitals.
The government has no plans to introduce charging for patients to access A&E services, and remains committed to improving the experience of patients so that all who need care can access it in a timely manner - free at the point of use.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.