In view if the recent queues out side A&E at the Princess Royal University Hospital Bob raised the matter with Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary. The exchange was recorded in Hansard as follows:
Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con): One problem last month in my local hospital, the Princess Royal University Hospital, was the lack of space, and ambulances were backed up. It is not just a staffing problem; it is a spatial problem. Does the Secretary of State agree that if we had more space in A and E departments, we could get people off the streets?
Mr Hunt: Space is a problem in some A and Es, which is why we have expanded A and E capacity. Other places have different problems, but the long-term solution is to have improved capacity outside hospitals in community care. That is the real challenge and what the “Five Year Forward View” is about.