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Nearly 560,000 more patients languished on hospital trolleys waiting for beds last year than when the Tories came to power.

That’s a 667 per cent rise since 2010.

Labour analysis of new stats shows 641,963 patients had to wait in A&E for a bed for over four hours in 2018. In 2010 that figure was just 83,743.

The number waiting over four hours in A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged last year hit nearly three million – up 510 per cent since 2010.

(Image: Getty)

There has also been a 33 per cent jump in admissions through A&E as patients found it increasingly difficult to see their GPs.

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “The state of the NHS under the Tories is a total disgrace. They don’t even have a plan to get waiting times back under control.

“They have starved the health service of cash, cut it, privatised bits of it and allowed staff shortages to build.” Theresa May has promised the health service an extra £20billion by 2023.

But, with one in 11 staff jobs vacant and the NHS short of 40,000 nurses, senior doctors warn hospitals are facing a “near-on impossible task.”

Labour vows to increase NHS funding when Jeremy Corbyn is PM. Mr Ashworth added: “We will put in place a plan to recruit the staff we need.”

Inquiry into A&E deaths

An inquiry into deaths in an A&E department found eight that raised concerns, including delays and errors diagnosing patients. The trust that runs Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, West Mids, investigated after a watchdog launched an inquiry.

It said it will look into possible care “deficiencies” and vowed to make improvements at the hospital. The trust looked into 229 deaths in the emergency department from 2016. Full reviews will now be carried out.