NHS Reaching Breaking Point in London as Workforce Crisis Deepens

Warnings that the NHS crisis will deepen and reach “breaking point” this winter follow the recent strike action taken by junior doctors and consultants, the first joint strike in NHS history.

Margaret Mullane, Labour’s PPC for Dagenham & Rainham said: “Ministers must address the sky-high waiting times at A&E departments, deal with chronic understaffing and resolve the issues driving the strikes to avoid a winter crisis in the NHS. The government can start by paying a wage that reflects the contribution of our NHS heroes, and by putting in place a sustainable long-term strategy to prevent the NHS haemorrhaging staff.”

NHS data has demonstrated the depth of the crisis in healthcare in London and the strains faced by doctors. In August 2023, 16,478 patients in London who needed admission through A&E faced a trolley wait - a delay of four hours or more waiting for a hospital bed.

Not one of the 18 London NHS trusts with major emergency A&E departments met the standard of seeing 95% of patients within four hours. Four saw fewer than half of patients within 4 hours: Barking, Havering & Redbridge University Hospitals Trust; King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust; London North West University Healthcare Trust; and The Hillingdon Hospitals Foundation Trust.

The four-hour standard sets out that at least 95% of patients attending A&E in England should be admitted to hospital, transferred to another provider, or discharged within four hours. BHRUT saw only 49.6% of patients within 4 hours.

Margaret added: “London’s NHS services are facing a staffing crisis. There are almost 30,000 fulltime posts vacant in London, 11.6% of the total workforce. It just isn’t sustainable. I visited Queen’s Hospital recently and the impact of this pressure is devastating. A massive recruitment and retention drive is needed so that the NHS has the resources to provide the care local people deserve.”

NHS services in London are in a poor position to face increased pressures over winter. In January 2020, the last winter before the pandemic, 402 patients in London England had A&E waits exceeding 12 hrs. In August 2023, a month without extreme weather, severe pandemic pressures or major tragedy in London, 5,048 patients faced delays of more than half a day, an increase of more than 1,150%. NHS waiting lists have hit a new record high of 7.7 million across England.