Wes Streeting, "We are beginning to see things move in the right direction"
➡️In 2019, less than 10,000 patients in hospital corridors, last year, it was around 1,000,000
➡️Labour's updated GP contract does not provide a budget to hire more GPs even though we have a need for more GPs and many unemployed GPs, instead Labour provided budgets to hire non GP staff eg PAs
➡️Last year 40,000 doctors applied for 10,000 training places, because Labour underfunded training places, meaning we have fewer GPs and fewer specialist doctors
➡️ A&E performance remains well below NHS standards: only about 71–73% of patients were seen within 4 hours, far short of the 95% target
➡️ Ambulance response times for urgent cases (e.g., strokes) still miss national targets, and routine waiting lists remain very high
➡️ 6 in 10 said they were dissatisfied, indicating widespread public frustration with current service quality
➡️ Public Accounts Committee found that key waiting‑time improvement targets were not met, that long waits persist (including year‑plus waits)
➡️ A Royal College of Nursing report (January 2026) describes widespread corridor care - patients left in hallways, dining rooms, and even viewing rooms because of overcrowding, a situation that was labelled a “national emergency”
➡️ Several NHS trusts in England (including three in Surrey) recently declared critical incidents due to surges in demand in A&E - showing that emergency services continue to be pushed to breaking point
➡️ Independent survey data show that only about 1 in 5 people are satisfied with how the NHS operates, and majorities feel dissatisfied. This is the lowest satisfaction on record and occurred during the period Labour has been in office