Hunt accused of '˜watering down' targets as NHS row escalates

In a highly charged debate in the Commons, Labour MPs slammed the Government for failing to respond to repeated warnings about the state of the health service, and suggested ministers were attempting to quietly scrap four-hour A&E waiting times.

The accusations came as health experts warned the country was facing its worst ever winter crisis, as overstretched and “underfunded” hospitals struggle to cope with soaring demand. It also came as NHS England boss Simon Stevens gave evidence to MPs about the sustainability of services, arguing the Government could not “pretend” there is no funding black hole.

Health dominated the political agenda for the third day in a row today, amid reports of ambulances being forced to queue outside overcrowded A&E departments and patients waiting up to 20 hours for a bed.

It was the main topic for debate in PMQs, as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suggested the Government had “fiddled” waiting time figures and urged Theresa May to invest more money in health and social care services.

The Prime Minister was resolute in her response, acknowledging the NHS was under pressure but repeating assertions that the Government is already putting in “extra funding”. She also took a swing at the Red Cross for describing the situation as a “humanitarian crisis”, saying it was “irresponsible and overblown”.

This met with hostility from Lib Dem MPs, who accused Mrs May of “picking a fight” with the charity to distract from the ongoing crisis. But the Prime Minister also faced criticism from her own MPs – including Health select committee chairman Sarah Wollaston – over reports Downing Street has been attempting to undermine Mr Stevens behind closed doors.

In a subsequent opposition debate, Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth suggested Jeremy Hunt was trying to “water down” four-hour A&E waiting standards, after he told MPs on Monday there was a need to “protect” the target for serious cases.

Mr Hunt denied the claim, calling the four-hour target “one of the best things the NHS does”, but did stress the need to divert people who did not have a medical emergency away from A&E.

The same debate saw the Labour MP Toby Perkin speak of the moment his father “died in my arms” after being sent home from a busy A&E last year. He blamed the incident on the strain on hospitals across the country.