Epsom & Ewell’s MP, Helen Maguire, has called for urgent action on social care after visiting Epsom Hospital’s accident and emergency department this week.
The Liberal Democrat MP met hospital staff and health professionals to discuss the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Plan. She said her visit underlined the “unimaginable pressures” faced by staff and patients as a result of overcrowding and long waits.
According to figures from Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, the average stay in A&E at Epsom during 2024/25 was 5 hours and 41 minutes. For patients admitted, the average length of stay rises to nearly 10 days. Some patients with mental health needs remain in the emergency department for extended periods due to difficulties securing appropriate care.
Maguire said she was concerned at the sight of patients being treated in corridor beds — something NHS staff acknowledged as a consequence of space shortages and wider pressures across the system.
Welcoming the government’s forthcoming NHS 10 Year Plan, Maguire argued that improvements in social care were essential to tackle the problem of so-called “bed-blocking” — where patients who are medically fit to be discharged remain in hospital because no suitable care arrangements are available.
“Hospitals like Epsom, in my constituency, face unimaginable pressures as a result of years of mismanagement under the previous Conservative government,” she said. “If this Labour government are serious about ending the bed-blocking crisis and improving patient outcomes, they should listen to the Liberal Democrats and put social care front and centre of the NHS 10 Year Plan. We cannot fix our NHS unless we fix the crisis in social care.”
She also praised the efforts of Epsom and St Helier staff: “I want to pay tribute to all of the wonderful staff at Epsom Hospital, and across the Trust, who work tirelessly to deliver the best possible outcomes for patients under incredibly testing circumstances.”
Local pressures in national context
Epsom and St Helier hospitals have faced longstanding challenges with ageing estates, high demand, and difficulties in discharging patients into community or residential care. The Trust has been working on plans to modernise services, including proposals for a new specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton, while maintaining district services in Epsom and St Helier.
Nationally, the issue of delayed discharges has been identified by successive governments as a major factor behind hospital overcrowding. NHS England data for 2024 showed that more than 12,000 hospital beds across the country were occupied each day by patients who no longer needed acute care, but who could not be discharged safely.
Health experts say shortages of social care staff, funding pressures on local councils, and a rising elderly population have combined to make the problem worse. The government has promised its NHS 10 Year Plan will set out reforms aimed at shifting more care into the community and improving integration between health and social care.