Freedom of Information data showed only seven per cent of calls were answered within 30 seconds in September 2021, compared to 40 per cent the previous year.
The NHS settled the legal dispute in November 2017 with an out of court settlement for an undisclosed sum.
"He'll be able to share all of his medical knowledge with the ex-banker Sajid Javid! FFS!!!" tweeted one angry person.
A further 341 people with Covid were in hospital in London on December 17, rising from 1,193 on December 10.
"Nobody in the #NHS has anything to feel guilty about. You have done us proud. You have worked miracles with very limited and often dwindling resources," was the heartfelt response to the Telegraph article.
A frontline healthcare worker, whose mother died after catching Covid in hospital, said she feels "taken for a mug".
"There is a weird taboo around financial incentives in healthcare. A fiver would do it. Hey, even a parking pass.. or lunch."
In the speech, which reduced some delegates to tears, he said: "We must never, ever let the NHS free from our grasp. Because if we do, your future will be my past."
"I come from a country where people have to fundraise on the internet just to stay alive. That's barbaric."