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Jess Brown-Fuller MP calls for end to 12-hour A&E waits as corridor care crisis worsens under Labour
- ethanstorey3
- Jan 22
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 23
NHS data shows hundreds of older patients in Chichester are waiting dangerously long hours in A&E, with many being left in corridors due to overwhelming demand.
Liberal Democrats are calling for a legal guarantee that no patient should wait more than 12 hours in A&E, supported by a £1.5bn plan to increase hospital capacity and social care support.
Having attended a parliamentary drop-in hosted by Age UK on the issue this week, Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester, Jess Brown-Fuller, is calling for urgent action to end the use of hospital corridors for patient care, following reports of seriously ill patients being left without privacy, monitoring, or dignity. The plan includes the expansion of hospital beds, investment in social care “safety net” places, and better step-down care to free up hospital capacity.
Jess said:
“Our A&E departments are under intolerable pressure, and too many older patients are being left in corridors when they need urgent care.
“NHS staff are doing everything they can in impossible circumstances, but the system is failing patients. It is unacceptable that anyone should wait hours in fear and discomfort, and we need real action to protect the vulnerable.”
Liberal Democrat analysis of NHS data highlights the growing crisis in emergency care across the country, with local hospitals in Chichester experiencing dangerous delays. The party’s latest proposals aim to:
Provide a legal guarantee that no patient waits more than 12 hours in A&E.
Make 6,000 extra hospital beds available nationwide within a year.
Invest in 1,000 more staffed hospital beds and additional step-down care facilities.
Fund additional social care support to ensure patients medically ready to leave hospital can be discharged safely.
Since becoming MP, Jess Brown-Fuller has championed the needs of older people and NHS patients in Chichester, visiting hospitals and care units to understand frontline pressures. She has previously advocated for social care reform, improved support for unpaid carers, and enhanced emergency care services in her constituency.
Jess added:
“Older people and their families deserve safety, dignity, and compassion when receiving care.
“The Liberal Democrats have a plan to make this a reality and end the tragedy of corridor care. Ministers must be held accountable if they fail to act.”
