52,000 people waiting for NHS appointment in Havering, Barking & Redbridge

BHRUT is responsible for Queen’s and King George hospitals 

The NHS waiting list for Barking, Havering and Redbridge has surpassed 50,000 people. 

New figures show 52,589 people were on the waiting list at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) at the end of September 2021. 

More than 1,000 of those people had been waiting for more than a year for an appointment. 

The MP for Dagenham and Rainham, Jon Cruddas, is calling on the government to develop a plan to tackle the problem. 

“The doctors, nurses, and other local health care professionals are doing amazing work, trying to see as many people as they can and provide quality care,” said Mr Cruddas.

“But there’s only so much they can do after a decade of underfunding and without the staff numbers they need.”

Jon Cruddas wants the government to explain how it will staff and support the NHS

The coronavirus pandemic has had a big impact on the NHS at a national level. 

In England, the waiting list increased from 4.2 million people in March 2020 to more than 5.8 million in September 2021. 

The NHS is also short of 100,000 staff, including 7,000 doctors and 40,000 nurses. 

Mr Cruddas added: “I am calling on the Government to urgently produce a plan to staff and support the NHS in order to bring down waiting lists in areas like ours.

“My constituents and people waiting for care across the country deserve better.”

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