BARROW'S MP has clapped back against NHS proposals that could force patients to pre-book appointments at accident and emergency units.
John Woodcock, the independent MP for Barrow and Furness, said he was concerned at plans to shake up A&E services.
NHS England chiefs are looking at whether to relax current targets to treat 95 per cent of A&E visitors within four hours, according to reports.
Mr Woodcock disagreed with the plans and said a night spent on the wards at Furness General Hospital had informed his view.
He said: “This alarming attempt to restrict access to A&E underlines just how much strain the NHS is under.
“My night with the amazingly dedicated nurses, doctors and paramedics at Furness General showed that this vital service is bursting at the seams and urgently needs a boost in resources.
“Instead of seeking to ditch the hard-won four-hour waiting time target, the answer to this is to provide areas like this with alternative health services like better GP access so families have an alternative to turning up at A&E to get treatment.”
NHS England is said to be examining its treatment targets and will include any changes in its forthcoming 10-year plan.
This will spell out how it would spend the extra £20bn it is set to receive from the government by 2023.
The health body is studying the operation of urgent and emergency care services in parts of Denmark where all but the most ill patients are expected to call to make an appointment at an A&E unit.
If brought in for England, it would see many of the 22 million visitors to A&E every year pre-booking before arriving.
As well as an adjustment of the four-hour target hospital bosses are said to be looking at scrapping the 18-week target for planned surgery, such as hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery.
The latest data for August showed that the University Hospitals of Morecambe Trust NHS Foundation Trust saw 86 per cent of A&E arrivals within four hours.
There were more than 9,000 A&E attendances recorded in August by trust, which manages hospitals inlcuding FGH.
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