New figures, based on a Freedom of Information request, reveal the staggering A&E waits facing people in Ipswich. Some 11% of patients waited more than 12 hours, with more than a third having to wait longer than six hours – the target is for 95% of patients to be seen within four hours.

Across the country in November more than 150,000 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E. Incredibly, one in forty patients waited more than 24 hours.

The figures follow analysis published in January which reveals that people suffering from an emergency such as a heart attack or stroke in the East of England face an average wait for an ambulance of two hours and six minutes – the target is just 18 minutes.

Responding to the figures, Jack Abbott, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Ipswich, said:

“The vast majority of people in A&E should be seen within four hours – yet here in Ipswich, more than one in ten people are being forced to wait for more than 12 hours. You’re likely to be waiting for well over two hours for an ambulance too.

“From ambulances to A&E, local people are waiting too long for care because the Conservatives have failed our health service.

“Labour has a plan – the next Labour government will abolish non-doms and use the money to fund one of the biggest workforce expansions in NHS history. We will train a new generation of doctors and nurses to make sure that people are treated on time again.”