Lib Dem MP Vikki Slade calls for end of 12 hour A&E waits, as University Hospitals Dorset records waits of over 82 hours recorded in 2025

Vikki Slade MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole says the Government is not moving quick enough, as Lib Dems call for end of 12-hour A&E waits and “corridor care”.

It comes as a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats reveals the shocking crisis in our NHS, with the average hospital trust now seeing nearly 3,000 patients wait more than 24 hours in A&E each year.

It’s a similar picture across the country, as new national data from the BMJ has revealed more than 13,000 patients waited over three days in England’s emergency departments.

University Hospitals Dorset recorded agonisingly long waiting times in A&E, with the longest wait for a patient taking over 82 hours last year. In twelve months alone, over 560 patients waited over 24 hours in University Hospital Trust’s A&E.

The Liberal Democrats have set out a £1.5bn plan to end corridor care and 12 hour waits within a year. Under their plans 6,000 more beds would be made available through investment in social care, supporting carers and hospices and boosting step down care so that thousands more people can leave hospital each week. The party would also secure 8,000 extra GPs so that every patient can be seen within a week or 24 hours if urgent so fewer people turn to A&E in desperation.

This aligns with Vikki’s support for the party’s new policy that would ensure the creation of supportive infrastructure – including healthcare provision – before any new housing developments are built.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat MP Vikki Slade MP said:

“It’s disgraceful that patients across Mid Dorset and North Poole are still being treated in corridors - yet another broken promise by this government, who have not tackled this issue head on.

“Enough is enough. This is a dangerous state of affairs for all patients, making hospitals more scary places than they already can be. For Doctors to do the work they need to do and for patients to trust them, we need care to take place in the appropriate environments."

“Only the Liberal Democrats have set out a plan to end the corridor care crisis for good, and now the Government needs to act."

“No government should tolerate this disaster, and ministers should be held accountable if they continue to fail in their duty to protect patients."