Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has outlined how Labour would tackle queuing ambulances and patients at Great Western Hospital.
During a visit to Westlea to meet campaigners, ahead of the general election on Thursday, July 4, the MP for Ilford North said that reducing backlogs in the NHS would be his priority if Labour forms the next government.
Congestion at Great Western Hospital has been an issue for patients, with vehicles spotted queuing to get into the car park as far back as Coate Water Roundabout at times.
GWH explained this happens at "very busy" times the issue is being tackled using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.
Ambulances have also faced delays when transferring patients to hospital, a situation recently described by senior coroner David Ridley as a “bottleneck".
READ MORE: 'Horrific' hour-long traffic queues build outside Great Western Hospital
Mr Streeting said Labour would tackle these problems by introducing a huge expansion in NHS staff, including social care and district nurses in the community.
He said: “I’ve been to Great Western Hospital and there are some brilliant staff there, but they are swimming against the tide of Conservative failure.
“The first step we will take on the road to turning the NHS around is to deliver 40,000 more appointments every week through evening and weekend clinics.
“The most important thing we can do for ambulance queues is to deal with delayed discharges, that’s why social care is going to be a priority.
“Ultimately a Labour government is going to have to deliver the biggest expansion of NHS staff in history so it can treat patients on time.”
Mr Streeting said he has been working with some of the country's best-performing hospitals to find practical solutions to delayed ambulance handovers in the meantime.
He added Labour would invest in a range of upgrades for the NHS, funded by closing ‘non-domiciled’ tax status loopholes.
This would involve doubling the number of CT and MRI scanners available and setting up community mental health hubs.
The shadow cabinet member was visiting Swindon to support Heidi Alexander’s campaign for the Swindon South seat.
Labour sees both Swindon constituencies as vital in their bid to win the election.
Mr Streeting added: “The road to change at the general election runs through Swindon.
“We’ve got two key battleground seats here, we know the team has been working really hard to rebuild trust with people who haven’t been voting Labour.”
In May, a spokesperson for the hospital said a new parking system has been installed in visitor car parks, which uses ANPR, improved payment machines and more payment options, including paying on exit at the barrier.
The spokesperson previously added: "Traffic flow is managed daily and, at busier times, parking attendants who work for the Trust’s car parking team support with directing cars to available spaces.
“Ambulances arriving on site with blue lights and sirens have a different route to use around the hospital site, meaning they do not wait in any queues to access the Emergency Department.
"There is also plenty of space for cars to move over should they need to, and we have not experienced issues of patients arriving on ambulances being held up due to traffic.”
At the election on July 4, other candidates so far declared for Swindon South are the sitting Conservative MP Robert Buckland and the Green Party’s Rod Hebden.
The hospital has been contacted for an updated comment.
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