The NHS is for life, not just for an election campaign

In 2010, when the Conservatives came into power, satisfaction with the NHS was at its peak at 70%. Nine years on, it’s fallen to 53% and satisfaction with GPs is at its lowest (63%) since 1983. (Kings Fund)

It’s not difficult to see why. The A&E 4-hour waiting time target hasn’t been met since 2015, patients wait over two weeks on average for a GP appointment, and average waits for hospital operations are now up to seven weeks.

Boris Johnson said it was his “mission” to address this, despite serving in the government that has cut funding and overseen the decline. As with every promise made by this untrustworthy Prime Minister, you can’t believe anything he says on the NHS or social care. Boris Johnson says he will fund 40 new hospitals. But it’s actually only six. (Guardian) Boris Johnson says he’s “going to fix the crisis in social care”. But the Conservative government has postponed the social care green paper five times and slashed central government funding for local authorities. (Institute for Government) Boris Johnson says the NHS is not on the table in a US trade deal. But the government has been in talks with US officials in just that scenario (Dispatches), and on which there will be more in my next NHS blog. As for staffing, while the Conservatives are making manifesto commitments for the long term about training more GPs, the short-term threat of Brexit is already impacting on our NHS: valued staff from across the EU are leaving, and the “Nurse Tax” will further discourage GPs and other EU health professionals to come and work in the UK, further exacerbating the pressures that are already caused by over 100,000 vacancies. (Mirror)

Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock are rushing to mitigate the PR damage of the looming NHS winter crisis on their campaign trail photo-calls, promising emergency cash and even a No10-led operations room to manage the pressures. (Guardian) Too little, too late, from a government that was also prepared, despite warnings from the Chief Medical Officer and other senior NHS professionals, to push the NHS to breaking point and risk patient deaths in a No Deal Brexit scenario. (Metro)

I will fight to change this. I am putting the preservation of the NHS and improvement of social care at the heart of my priorities for Esher and Walton. I want to do this as I care deeply about the NHS and all it has done for my family, and I want it to still be there when my children have families too.I know that residents across our community feel the same. In the responses to my recent “knock and drop” survey, over 80% of respondents placed the NHS in their top four issues.

We have brilliant doctors and nurses working tirelessly across our community but they are overworked and under-resourced. As a result, the national decline in performance caused by a decade of Conservative under-funding is mirrored here too. Without an acute hospital or A&E in our constituency, residents rely on Kingston. Epsom and St Peter’s hospitals in an emergency; all three hospitals have seen their A&E waiting times rise dramatically in recent years, with only 86.6% of patients seen at Kingston A&E within the four-hour target, compared to 91.4% just three years ago, only 86.3% seen within the target time at Epsom, compared to a high-performing 97.1% in 2016 and a dire 78.5% seen within four hours at St Peter’s, compared to 88.5% previously. (NHS England)

Respondents to my survey also raised the issue of GP appointments and again, local data bears out the national picture: only 65% of people served by Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Group (which covers our constituency) are happy with the GP appointments they are offered. (GP Patient Survey: July 2019)

A Liberal Democrat Government would make a difference, nationally and locally. We are the only party who can put forward fully costed and - more importantly - funded proposals, rather than empty promises that rely on magic money trees. We are committing to invest a penny in every pound on income tax in health and care services while the £50bn Remain Bonus (money saved if we don’t leave the EU) will also be available to restore our ailing public services. Along with measures to support staff across the NHS and community services, we will be able to invest in hospitals and equipment, using our £100bn capital fund and to create parity for physical and mental health, with a 24-hour service to support those with mental health needs.

We will build a better health and care system that is prepared for the future, provides quality care for patients and respects our health workforce. Our national investment will benefit every constituency in the land and reverse the impact of a decade of austerity cuts by the Conservatives. Support me and I will make sure that the NHS and the people of Esher and Walton receive the care they deserve.