Show your support for our new A&E

Show your support for a new A&E

A year ago, we launched our campaign to secure the £35 million needed to transform our A&E at Queen’s Hospital and help put an end to patients being cared for in corridors.

Since then, we’ve been grateful for continued support from local MPs, who have visited the department and raised concerns on behalf of local residents.

Our A&E corridors

A department not fit for purpose

Queen’s A&E was designed in 2006 to care for a maximum of 325 people a day seeking urgent and emergency care. Today, we regularly see more than double that demand.

In our busiest periods, the department has seen more than 800 attendances in a single day, and March 2025 was our busiest month on record with 31,186 attendances.

The increase in demand isn’t a one off. Year-on-year, we’re seeing thousands more patients attend our A&Es resulting in patients facing long waits and being cared for in our corridors. This is unacceptable. It’s a poor experience for our patients, their families, and our staff.

It also costs us £100k a month for additional staffing needed to care for patients in corridors. A redesigned A&E, that is fit for purpose, will help end this.

CEO, Matthew Trainer said:

We’re grateful to our local MPs for their ongoing support of our campaign to transform A&E at Queen’s Hospital.

I am confident – in this the year Queen’s turns 20 – that we will receive the £35m needed to rebuild the A&E. Our plans will come before the Board in March. The transformation of an overcrowded department that was designed for 325 patients a day will make it fit for purpose and eradicate corridor care.

Support from local MPs

Local MPs, who have witnessed what it’s like in the department, have continued to support our campaign, highlighting the urgent need for investment in Queen’s Hospital A&E.

One year on from launching our campaign, Margaret Mullane, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, said:

None of us want to see our friends, family or loved ones sat in hospital corridors; the daily scenes are heartbreaking. It is now imperative that Queen’s Hospital gets the funding it so desperately needs.

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 my visits to the hospital, I have seen firsthand the lifesaving work of the team - and the increasing demand they face.

Julia Lopez, MP for Hornchurch and Upminster, has also been pushing for the much needed funding and has raised it in the Houses of Parliament.

Julia said:

Queen’s A&E is under severe and sustained pressure, regularly operating far beyond its intended capacity. Too many patients are facing long waits, with treatment sometimes taking place in corridors. I continue to hear deeply concerning reports from residents about waiting times and difficult conditions, alongside wider coverage highlighting the strain on staff and facilities. These pressures have only intensified over the winter.

There is a clear case for the £35 million proposal from Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust to transform and expand the A&E.