East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tom Rutland has commended teams working under the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex) for their hard work in seeing waiting lists fall by more than 20,400 since Labour came to power, despite mounting pressures.
Mr Rutland attributed the progress to the Labour government’s Elective Reform Plan, which marked a year since its publication.
He said: “NHS staff in Sussex have worked incredibly hard to bring down the waiting list while seeing a record surge in patients last year.
“Thanks to this Labour government’s Elective Reform Plan, our record investment and modernisation, 20,414 more patients got a faster diagnosis at our local trust and received quicker treatment or the all-clear over the last 12 months.
“This is despite services facing consistently high levels of pressure and experiencing another record year for A&E and ambulances.”
The trust’s improvements are part of a wider national trend, with England’s waiting list falling by more than 86,000 in November to 7.31 million.
The past year was the NHS’s busiest on record, with 27.8 million A&E attendances – an increase of more than 367,000 compared to 2024.
Measures introduced through the Elective Reform Plan include extended evening and weekend clinics, expanded community diagnostic centres, surgical hubs, and streamlined referrals sending patients “straight to test.”
These changes are designed to cut unnecessary appointments and speed up care.
Mr Rutland also highlighted the role of Southlands Hospital’s Community Diagnostic Centre, which opened just over a year ago and has helped improve access to timely diagnostics for patients in the area.
Despite recent success, he warned that winter pressures continue to strain the system as hospitals grapple with high cases of flu.
He urged eligible residents in Adur and Worthing to take up the flu vaccine to protect themselves and the wider community.
Mr Rutland said: “It will be a long road, but Labour is fixing our health service in Adur and Worthing and making it fit for the future and beyond.”
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