News / Health
Bristol MP calls on government to address staff shortages across NHS and social care
Karin Smyth has slammed the Government’s track record on NHS waiting times, emergency and social care, calling on ministers to take action.
The MP for Bristol South highlighted the extreme staff shortages in the social care system, saying this is having a knock-on effect across the health service with thousands of patients who are medically fit enough to be discharged having to remain in hospital.
Speaking in a House of Commons debate on ambulance waiting times, Smyth called for a workforce plan to address shortages across the entire NHS.
is needed now More than ever
She said these pressures in hospital discharging are directly impacting waiting times in emergency departments, “putting staff under pressure and patients in danger”.
Karin Smyth has slammed the Government’s track record on NHS waiting times, emergency and social care – photo: Karin Smyth
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Smyth said: “We know that under this Government, record numbers of people are waiting for care and they are waiting longer than ever before.
“Waiting times for ambulance and emergency department care are a symptom of the problems across the entire health and social care system.
“A record six million people are waiting for NHS treatment. There is a shortage of 100,000 staff and 17,000 fewer beds. That is not due to the pandemic, but deliberate underfunding of the NHS by a government who themselves admit—as the culture secretary recently did—that a decade of Conservative mismanagement had left our NHS ‘wanting and inadequate’ even before Covid hit.”
She went on to say that waiting times for emergency care are “nothing short of shocking”.
Edward Argar, the minister for health at the time who resigned on the day of the debate, said the Government is putting measures in place.
He added: “A key element of the solution is the new integrated care boards and integrated care systems, which genuinely seek to bridge the gap between two parts of the system.”
Speaking after the Commons debate, Smyth said: “We need to see a comprehensive workforce plan and social care plan from the Government. The Government’s so-called ‘fix’ for social care is not due to come until October 2023. This is too late and not a fix at all.
“I will continue to press the Government to take action to alleviate pressures across the care system, from emergency departments to social care. There is no quick fix, but if the Government is serious about improving waiting times they must look at the system as a whole.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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