After nearly a decade of Conservative rule, in December over 500,000 more people were made to wait over four hours to be seen at A&E than in 2011. That's an increase of over 900%. The number of people attending A&E, however, had only increased by less than 30%.

Now, Brexit and an impending trade deal with the US threatens to increase the NHS drug bill from £18 billion to as much as £45 billion a year while shutting out the nurses, carers and other workers that the health service depends on.

Note: Over the past few months A&E attendance across England has fallen by more than 50% as people choose to stay at home to help reduce the pressure on the NHS during the current pandemic.

Call to Action

Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, there are 19,600 fewer NHS beds in England. That's 19,600 fewer beds for those that who might need them. That's a decrease of over 20%.

Roughly 39% of NHS trusts have fewer beds, whereas only around 18% of trusts have significantly more.

Now, Brexit and an impending trade deal with the US threatens to increase the NHS drug bill from £18 billion to as much as £45 billion a year while shutting out the nurses, carers and other workers that the health service depends on.

Note: Over the past few months A&E attendance across England has fallen by more than 50% as people choose to stay at home to help reduce the pressure on the NHS during the current pandemic.

Call to Action

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 104,800 reported deaths related to Covid-19 in English hospitals. There were 19 deaths recorded yesterday and 700 over the last seven days. Last updated: 26/1/2022.

Please note that these figures, particularly the most recent ones, are subject to change as new reports are made. Additionally, these figures do not include deaths outside hospital, such as those in care homes. For additional information, please see the official NHS page for Covid-19 death statistics.

Undoubtedly, Government failures have meant that more people have died from Covid-19 than they otherwise would have. From toying with the idea of 'herd immunity' instead of initiating an early lockdown to the failure to provide adequate PPE to frontline staff and an ineffective privately run track-and-trace system, the Governments response to the pandemic has been sadly inadequate.

Additionally, after a decade of underfunding and neglect, the NHS was ill-prepared for a pandemic of this scale. With A&E waiting times at an all-time high, and the number of overnight beds at an all-time low.

The NHS deserves better, we deserve better and we must unite in demanding better.

Call to Action