Jonathan Ashworth – 2021 Comments on NHS Waiting List Reaching 5 Million

The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 13 May 2021.

This week the five million patients waiting for treatment needed a Queen’s Speech that delivered an NHS rescue plan to provide timely treatment for those waiting for health care.

These shocking levels of unmet care needs risk serious illness and permanent disability for thousands of people.

This is a devastating verdict on 11 years of underfunding, cuts, understaffing and neglect of social care that left both health and care services weakened and exposed when the pandemic hit. We entered the crisis with sky high waiting lists, cancer targets missed and young people denied mental health support. It’s time for a reset on the NHS to deliver the care patients deserve.