Following our busiest month ever, with almost 31,000 patients attending our A&Es in December, we’ve launched a campaign to secure the £35million needed to transform the department at Queen’s Hospital.

Local MPs have backed the campaign to improve an A&E built for 325 patients over two decades ago, which now sees more than double that on a daily basis – 752 patients came to Queen’s Hospital needing emergency care on just one day in December. It also sees around 100 ambulance arrivals every day.

Julia Lopez, MP for Hornchurch and Upminster, said: 

To get better emergency care for residents, I’ve been pushing ministers to fund the redevelopment of Queen’s A&E. The redevelopment has been made possible now that some services have moved from Queen’s Hospital into the brand new £17m St. George’s Health and Wellbeing Hub in Hornchurch which we managed to deliver last year.

I’ve been supporting this campaign for a few months now and look forward to continuing to work with Queen’s on this important campaign which will improve healthcare here in Havering”

Margaret Mullane, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, said: 

There is a desperate need to expand the capacity of the A&E department at Queen's Hospital. The staff are amazing; they go above and beyond to deliver the best care they can, but Queen’s Hospital was only designed with a capacity in A&E for around 300 patients a day, currently the number is often up to 750 with over 100 ambulance arrivals.  

I have recently written to Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and followed that up with a request to meet the Chair and Chief Executive of North East London NHS to press the case for investment at Queen's. I am determined to help Queen’s Hospital realise its potential so that people in Dagenham and Rainham have access to outstanding healthcare.

Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford, said:

I fully support the campaign to secure the necessary funding for the transformation of our A&E at Queen’s. On the many visits that I have made to the hospital in my capacity as the MP for Romford, I have seen firsthand the lifesaving work of the team at Queen’s, but I’m afraid that the resources are simply not there to meet ever-increasing demand.

This initiative is crucial for ensuring that our community receives the highest standard of emergency care when we need it most. I urge everyone from our region to join us in this campaign and show their support for this vital cause.

We’re grateful for the support of these MPs and we’re calling on the very people who need a better A&E, those who rely on the care our staff provide - our patients and their relatives - to support our campaign. We’re asking them to contact their MP, with posters in the department including QR codes linking straight to contact information for the MPs who represent the constituencies we serve.

Matthew Trainer, our Chief Executive, said:

This has already been a particularly bad winter, with early January seeing up to 50 patients cared for on our corridors at any one time. It’s not what we would want for ourselves or our loved ones and it’s not good enough. 

The physical layout of the Queen’s A&E is inadequate and the additional staff we need to care for patients on beds in corridors costs £100,000 a month. This is bad for patients and their families, and for our staff.

I’m grateful for the support of our MPs as we campaign to secure the £35m funding needed to improve patient care, provide better working conditions for colleagues and end the indignity of corridor care.

Find more information on our campaign page.