Lib Dem plans to tackle ambulance delays and end the “corridor care crisis”

Parliamentary Candidate for Harpenden & Berkhamsted says Lib Dem plans will tackle ambulance delays and end “corridor care crisis”

The Liberal Democrats have announced a new plan to tackle the scandal of patients dying before an ambulance arrives with 1,000 new hospital beds and investment for A&E departments.

This latest Lib Dem policy announcement comes as a new health survey commissioned by the Harpenden & Berkhamsted Liberal Democrats shows a staggering 41% of respondents had to wait more than 40 minutes for an ambulance.

The question asked: “If you or a relative had to call an ambulance in the past 2 years, how long did it take to arrive?”

• 41.7% said more than 40 mins

• With just 4.9% saying less than 7 minutes

Liberal Democrats have previously announced their plans to recruit more GPs, fix crumbling hospitals and provide free personal care.

The proposals would be funded through an upfront capital investment of £280m to expand urgent treatment centres and A&E wards and an additional £400m per year to add an extra 1,000 staffed beds in hospitals.

Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Harpenden & Berkhamsted, said:

“On doorsteps across Harpenden, Berkhamsted, Tring and the surrounding villages the crisis in our NHS is a topic people want to discuss with me time and again.”

“I’ve heard stories of families waiting for hours for ambulances. Too many people have lost a loved one to the shameful scandal of ambulance waiting times. People no longer trust that when they call 999, an ambulance will arrive in time.”

“In April, I joined an East of England Ambulance crew in West Hertfordshire to see for myself the pressure they are under. This Conservative government has run our health services into the ground. Paramedics perform heroics every day, but the pressures of a broken system are piling up.”

“The Liberal Democrats would end the crisis in our ambulance services, by increasing the number of beds and offering free personal care to ease the pressure on hospital wards.”

The plan to end the life-threatening crisis in ambulance services includes: 

• Providing free personal care to ease the pressure on hospitals and ambulance services 

• Increasing the number of staffed hospital beds by 1,000 to end excessive handover delays 

• Publishing accessible, localised reports of ambulance response times