Hospitals in Oxfordshire are “splitting at the seams” with patients “paying the price”, MPs have said as waiting times increase at accident and emergency departments.
A Freedom of Information request submitted by The Oxford Times reveals patients visiting Oxford University Hospitals have experienced increased waiting times in A&E.
Since 2019, the average waiting time has been 44 minutes and 32 minutes longer at the John Radcliffe in Headington and Horton General in Banbury, respectively.
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Since 2019, the average waiting time has been 44 minutes and 32 minutes longer at the John Radcliffe in Headington and Horton General Hospital in Banbury respectively.
In 2019, the average waiting time at both hospitals was around the three hour mark but this has since jumped to closer to four hours at the John Radcliffe Hospital and comfortably over the three hour mark at the Horton General Hospital.
Oxford's Churchill Hospital cancer treatment centre was not included in the request, as it does not have an A&E department.
The results of the Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that waiting times in A&E departments have gradually worsened and patients were generally waiting slightly longer in the John Radcliffe A&E in comparison to the Horton General Hospital.
Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran said the findings proved the NHS was “collapsing in front of our eyes”, while Oxford East MP and Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds described the findings as “deeply concerning”.
Ms Moran said: “The Tory government has failed to tackle the crisis in our NHS and is putting patients’ lives at risk.
“How much more evidence do ministers need?
“Our NHS isn’t just at breaking point- it’s splitting at the seams.”
The average waiting time for patients at the John Radcliffe Hospital has increased by a quarter since 2019 and by a fifth at the Horton Hospital.
Ms Dodds said the FOI’s results was evidence that “our healthcare system is failing”.
She added: “This data about waiting times at our hospitals is deeply concerning.
“Patients are paying the price, and they know it.”
The Labour MP said she regularly heard from constituents “who are scared that in an emergency there’s no guarantee an ambulance will arrive on time, if at all”.
Banbury MP Victoria Prentis insisted that “cutting waiting lists” remains one of the prime minister’s “top priorities” and she pointed to improvements at hospitals across Banbury as evidence that resources are continuing to “move in the right direction”.
She said: “The Horton can do a lot more than many realise, handling most issues in the first instance with roughly 80 per cent of patients discharged immediately.
“It is important that people follow NHS guidance in using A&E for genuine life-threatening emergencies.”
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Ms Prentis said the new Surgicube Ophthalmology United at Cherwell Hospital in Banbury was “one example of where collaboration across the health sector can bolster capacity and give patients more choice over where they are treated”.
This year, the worst month for average waiting times at A&E in the John Radcliffe Hospital and Horton Hospital was February, with patients waiting four hours and just over three hours and a half respectively.
One Oxford patient, Laura Mooney, said she has had "five years of back and forth" trying to secure an appointment for her daughter.
Another person waiting for an appointment is Dave Wightman who said he has spent "seven months hoping to visit the hospital for an eye problem".
And Meggy Robertson visited the John Radcliffe Hospital's A&E department three times in the last few weeks.
She said: "All of the waits were five or six hours. It's not the staff's fault. They were working very hard."
Sara Randall, chief operating officer at Oxford University Hospitals, said: “In common with other NHS trusts around the country, we have seen an increase in Emergency Department waiting times at OUH.
“This is down to a number of factors, including the impact of Covid, an increase in patients attending our Emergency Departments, and the patients who do attend being more unwell and requiring more treatment.
“Following a recent patient survey, we have made improvements to our Emergency Departments including better food facilities, phone charging points, and improved signage.
“We appreciate that waiting a long time in an Emergency Department can be a stressful time, and continue to do all that we can to manage this.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Cutting waiting lists is one of the government’s top five priorities and we are making progress, including virtually eliminating 18-month waits and treating record numbers each day.
“Our Elective Recovery Taskforce is also going further to unlock the independent sector so patients can be treated more quickly.
“There are record numbers of staff working in the NHS, and we will recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff over the next 15 years through the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.”
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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times.
He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.
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