A&E services at St Helier Hospital are under unprecedented pressure, a local MP has warned, after more than 2,000 patients waited over 12 hours for treatment this past winter.
Bobby Dean MP believes the Sutton hospital has reached a ‘breaking point’, as new research reveals Epsom and St Helier Trust is one of the worst-performing NHS trusts in London for A&E waiting times.
Data commissioned by the Liberal Democrats found that more than 34 per cent of patients waited longer than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E at the Trust. The Carshalton and Wallington MP criticised these delays, highlighting that outdated facilities are exacerbating the pressures faced by staff and patients.
He said: “Delays to the promised St Helier upgrades directly threaten the future of our hospital and leave patients and NHS staff paying the price. The queues to get emergency treatment are spiralling across the country, but the poor state of our buildings is making the situation even worse.”
In 2019, the Boris Johnson-led government promised £500 million for Sutton as part of the nationwide New Hospital Programme (NHP), which aimed to build 40 new hospitals by 2030. However, the current Labour government has dismissed Mr Johnson’s plans as “a work of fiction,” delaying vital upgrades until the 2030s.
Mr Dean described the situation as a national crisis, adding that the poor condition of hospital buildings significantly worsens the emergency care delays. He recounted a personal experience of the crisis, recalling how an elderly relative had to wait on the floor in A&E due to a shortage of trolleys and beds.
“The government must see sense and urgently bring forward these long-overdue upgrades,” Mr Dean said.
A spokesperson for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “While patients in our emergency department are kept safe and we prioritise those who are the sickest, we don’t want to be providing care in this way and apologise to anyone experiencing long waits as our teams continue to do the best they can under huge pressure.”
The Trust spokesperson added: “We’ve been very busy, driven by a surge in viruses such as flu and norovirus – people can help us by using NHS 111, their GP or a pharmacy if their need is less urgent, and by getting their jabs.”
The Trust has invested £60 million over the past five years to improve facilities but acknowledged its ageing hospitals are deteriorating faster than they can be repaired. Although the construction of a new hospital and upgrades to existing sites will now begin later than originally planned, patient safety remains the trust’s top priority.
