BEREAVED families who have lost loved ones due to long A&E waits unveiled a memorial outside the Conservative Party headquarters in Westminster today.

The memorial bench pays tribute to the thousands of NHS patients who died waiting for emergency care during the last five years of the Tory government and its reckless underinvestment in the service. 

The bench was unveiled by Samina Rahman, whose husband died from a heart attack after waiting 80 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, and Mathew Hulbert, whose mother died of sepsis two days after falling in her home and waiting 11 hours for an ambulance.

Ms Rahman said the bench “serves as a reminder of the human cost of the NHS crisis.

“A crisis created by this Conservative government and its deliberate underfunding of our health service,” she said.

“My husband died in my arms while we waited for help that came too late.

“I live with the trauma of that and the loss of Iqbal every single day.”

Mr Hulbert added: “Losing my mum after she suffered such a horrific wait for the ambulance will haunt me for the rest of my days. 

“We’re here to ensure that the thousands of lives lost are not forgotten. 

“This government must be held accountable for the collapse of emergency care services.”

According to the  Royal College of Medicine, 14,000 people died while waiting up to 12 hours in A&E in 2023 alone. 

The waits have shown little sign of shortening, with the latest figures showing that more than 42,555 were waiting over 12 hours in A&E in England in May, up from 42,078 the month before. 

Last month, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said the long waits were a “national scandal” which were causing “entirely preventable” deaths.

In its survey of emergency department heads, 91 per cent felt their patients were “coming into harm” in their department due to the quality of care under current conditions.

Campaigners from Just Treatment, who helped organise the memorial, are calling on the next government to urgently supply the NHS with an extra £40 billion in funding to align Britain’s investment in health with countries like France and Germany.