Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton and Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, is calling for a £1.5bn plan to end 12-hour A&E waits within a year.

This comes as A&Es across the country are facing rocketing waits for patients in desperate need of care.

The new Liberal Democrat plan would introduce a new law to enshrine the right for patients to be seen in A&E within 12 hours, warning that "18 months of Labour failure" has worsened the NHS crisis left by the Conservatives. 

Liberal Democrat analysis of the latest NHS England data shows 2025 is projected to see the worst level of 12-hour trolley-waits in A&E ever recorded Locally, a shocking 11,150 patients waited 12 hours in Kingston Hospital A&E in 2025.

The Lib Dem plan would bring to an end 12 hour waits and hospital 'corridor care' within a year. 

The plan includes:

• Making 6,000 extra hospital beds available to end corridor care within a year.
• Investing in 1,000 more staffed hospital beds.
• Extra investment in social care to reserve 1,600 "safety net" social care places each day, for hospitals to discharge into if they need to.
• Extra step-down care - freeing up 1,200 beds a day.
• Making more beds available in care homes and hospitals.

The proposal would be funded by cancelling the planned medicine price hike agreed with the Trump administration before Christmas, which is set to cost the NHS over £3bn a year despite minimal benefits for patients. 

Commenting on the matter, Ed Davey, said: "For too long people in Kingston and Surbiton have suffered with degrading waits and treatment in hospital corridors.

"Our doctors and nurses' staff at Kingston Hospital are working so hard but have been let down by those in power. It is a national emergency, and it is devastating our NHS - we need a real plan to fix it.

"Liberal Democrats are offering the bold solutions we need to free up our hospitals and end the A&E crisis once and for all. No government should tolerate this disaster, and ministers should be held legally accountable if they continue to fail in their duty to protect patients."

While there is no news that Kingston Hospital was among the hospitals declaring "critical incident'' last night (Wednesday, 14 January), earlier this week it urged emergency patients without "serious injuries or life-threatening emergencies" to attend the Urgent Treatment Centre at Teddington Memorial Hospital due to "pressure" on Kingston's Emergency Department.

The Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust said: "Kingston Hospital's Emergency Department is for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies only."

Kingston Hospital added: "Due to extreme pressure, the hospital may redirect less urgent cases to other services or advise patients to use 111.nhs.uk or call 111 for guidance."