NEARLY 13,000 patients have faced waits of 12 hours or more for A&E in Somerset, shocking new figures have revealed.

The statistics - released by NHS England - show the number of people who waited more than 12 hours from arriving at A&E to being admitted, transferred or discharged in October of this year.

In Somerset, 12,915 people waiting to be seen did so for over 12 hours - nearly 4% of all those attending A&E.

The Royal College of Medicine has warned that delays to accessing care or being admitted to a hospital, can “increase a patient’s risk of harm and death” - even after they are discharged from emergency services.

Gideon Amos, MP for Taunton and Wellington, is calling for a rescue plan for local health services, including immediately exempting GPs and care providers from the Chancellor’s NICs hike.

This would help reduce pressure on overstretched hospitals and ambulance services.

Responding to the waiting times figures, Mr Amos said: “Twelve or more hours is a huge amount of time to be waiting in any A&E department.

"By ending NHS dentistry in the county and running down our GPs, the last Conservative government stoked up a crisis in hospitals which, for many, have become the only place left to go. They’ve got a lot to answer for.

"Time can be critical when you’re waiting for treatment and long waits in A&E here in Somerset can be dangerous.

"The new Government must urgently get a grip on this crisis and bring forward a plan to rescue our struggling health services.

"It’s great to see the money allocated to the NHS in the Budget but I’m demanding that Musgrove Park Hospital gets every penny it needs from that funding.

"At the same time, Ministers must urgently exempt GPs, care homes, and other health and care providers from their National Insurance tax hike, which risks making things even worse."