NHS waiting lists at Lewes area hospitals have risen by more than 23,000 since last year

NHS data also reveals that the number waiting over a year for treatment has risen by well over 5,000 since Sunak made his waiting lists pledge to cut NHS waiting lists in January 2023. In the Lewes area they have risen by 23,484 since then.

The Autumn Statement revealed that the NHS budget has been cut by £3.5 billion (2.1%) in real terms this year, and is set to fall by another £1.3 billion (0.8%) next year.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Lewes, James MacCleary, said: “These shocking figures show far too many people here are being left waiting endlessly in pain for treatment. People deserve a local health service that delivers the care they deserve when they need it.

“One year on from when Rishi Sunak promised that waiting lists would fall, thousands of people in our community are still stuck on waiting lists with their lives put on hold or unable to work. The recent critical incident at the Royal Sussex and the Princess Royal shows just how close to catastrophe our hospitals are after years of underfunding.”

Maria Caulfied, Conservative MP for Lewes, said: “Both nationally and locally in Lewes we are seeing waiting times for producers and operations falling. This time last year people were waiting close to two years, post covid, for tests and procedures whereas now the average time is around 18 weeks.

“This has happened locally with the opening of our new rapid diagnostic centre at Falmer which is seeing hundreds of people each week and the start of the new surgical hub in Eastbourne will help deliver faster operations locally.

“We do have more people coming onto the waiting list but what matters to people is not who else is on the waiting list but how long they have to wait. Thanks to the incredible work of our health teams we have seen waits for procedures drop . We are now focusing our work on the waits to see GPs and Dentists.”