Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South and Shadow Health Minister, joined Sir Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party, in Braintree this week for the launch of Labour’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future.
Labour has set out five national missions that we will build our manifesto around and, if elected, drive everything we do in government.
Labour will be focussed on outcomes that matter: making sure people are better off, live in safe communities, and have the opportunities they need to succeed – wherever they live, and whatever their background.
On Monday, Karin helped introduce the third mission that will be delivered by a Labour Government – reforming health and securing the NHS’s future. Labour will shift services out of hospitals and into the community, so that the NHS becomes as much a Neighbourhood Health Service as it is a National Health Service, with healthcare on your doorstep, there for you when you need it. Labour will do this by:
• Improving GP access by training more GPs and ensuring patients can easily book appointments in the manner they choose, to end the 8am scramble
• Taking the pressure off GPs by expanding community pharmacy and cutting unnecessary red tape in referral routes
• Bringing back the family doctor for those who benefit from seeing the same GP each time
• Joining up health and care services in the community so patients can see a range of different health professionals all in one place
• Boosting mental health support in the community to take the pressure off GPs and A&E and ensure people get the care they need before they reach crisis
• Creating a neighbourhood NHS workforce by doubling the number of district nurses qualifying every year and training 5,000 more health visitors, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status
• Ending the workforce crisis in social care with fair pay, terms and conditions for carers and reforming the system to raise standards, increase integration, give users more choice and control over their support and ensure people are supported to stay in their homes for as long as possible.
Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South and Shadow Health Minister, said:
“Labour’s plans for the NHS and social care system are unashamedly ambitious. These are big, ten-year goals, and our mission-driven government will deliver. We will bring in a broad pool of organisations to ensure that patients are at the heart of the NHS and outcomes are seen as the measure of success.
“The NHS needs investment and reform. In the case of the last Labour government this combination delivered the shortest waiting times and highest patient satisfaction in history. We’ve already made a significant down payment with our workforce pledge because this is about political choices. The NHS needs doctors and nurses more than the wealthiest deserve tax breaks.
“Time and time again the Tories say they are fixing the mess they have made. But weeks pass and people in Bristol see no improvements. The reason people can’t get a GP appointment is because the Conservatives have cut 2,000 GPs. Our NHS plan launch shows that Labour is ready to serve and deliver for everyone by securing the NHS’s future.”
