951 patients in died while on NHS waiting lists in our area last year

Freedom of information requests have revealed that record numbers of people are passing away having never received the treatment they were waiting for.

Latest data shows that deaths while waiting for NHS care have increased rapidly across the country over recent years, remaining far higher than when the country was still in the midst of the Covid pandemic.

The NHS constitution states that patients should not wait more than 18 weeks for treatment, but at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust alone, 908 people have died having been waiting for treatment for longer than 18 weeks.

The public now face the longest waiting lists in NHS history. There are currently 51,010 patients on the waiting list for treatment at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

Rishi Sunak promised to cut NHS waiting lists, but waiting lists have continued to grow quickly since he became Prime Minister.

Peter Lamb, Labour candidate for Crawley, said:

“Far too many people in Crawley are waiting far too long for care, and the result is that record numbers of people are spending their final months in pain and agony, waiting for treatment that never arrives.

“The basic promise of the NHS – that it will be there for us when we need it – has been broken. The longer the Conservatives are in office, the longer patients will wait.

“After 14 years of Tory failure, Labour has a plan to get our health service back on its feet. We will train the staff needed to treat patients on time again – funded by closing the non-dom tax loophole – and we will reform the service to make it fit for the future.”