MPs celebrate over 55,000 extra appointments at Staffordshire hospitals as NHS waiting lists fall under Labour

More than 55,000 extra appointments delivered by University Hospitals North Midlands Trust (UHNM) in one year are reducing waiting times and waiting lists.

Progress at the Royal Stoke and County Hospital highlight the incredible hard work of UHNM staff, substantial Government investment, and strong backing from the county’s MPs.

Leigh Ingham, MP for Stafford, Eccleshall, and the villages, and Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, are celebrating the news, as part of over 5 million extra appointments delivered across England since Labour was elected.

The delivery of the extra appointments by UHNM follows the recent news that waiting lists for some of the longest waits across Royal Stoke and County Hospital in Stafford, have been cut by 54%, with almost 3,000 people who had been waiting far too long for treatment getting the care they needed.

Leigh Ingham, MP for Stafford, Eccleshall, and the villages said: “Having NHS care close to home makes a huge difference to patients’ lives, and I’m thrilled to see this expanded capacity at UHNM. What it means for people locally is quicker and more convenient appointments, closer to home.

“The increased capacity across the country has also meant that despite ongoing pressures on the health service, more local patients have received the care they need. This is brilliant news and a testament to the incredible teams at County Hospital and Royal Stoke.”

Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central said: “The Government inherited an NHS with some patients waiting as long as 18 months for treatment. For far too long, patients in Staffordshire have been stuck on NHS waiting lists or struggling to get the healthcare that they need.

“I’m proud to see such incredible progress at our local hospitals, which is down to the relentless efforts of NHS staff, alongside key reforms and the extra £26 billion we’re investing to get waiting times down for patients.”

Dr Simon Constable, UHNM Chief Executive, said: “We want to reassure patients that reducing waiting times remains one of our top priorities and we are working tirelessly to ensure they receive the timely treatment and high-quality care they deserve.”

The news is part of an extra 5 million appointments nationally, smashing the Government’s target of an extra 2 million appointments in the first year.

The two MPs are fierce advocates for the hospital trust and are pushing ministers to commit to additional funding for an Electronic Patient Record system, with the investment in technology described by the two MPs as a “vital next step to improving patient care”.