Get the NHS back on its feet
The NHS is on its knees. In fact, some would say it’s face down and taking a good kicking from the Tories. We have to get it back on its feet.
The NHS waiting list is now at almost 8 million. Ambulances don’t come when you need them.
The 8am scramble for a GP appointment is the final straw for many patients. Dentistry is in crisis with tooth decay the number one cause of hospital admissions among children aged between six and ten years old.
Waiting times for cancer patients have got worse every year since the Conservatives came to power in 2010. Around, 500,000 suspected cancer patients waited longer than the recommended two weeks to see a specialist after being referred by their GP. Equally the waiting list for community mental health care in England hit 1.2 million last year.
Labour will be the government that finally transforms our NHS to make it a service fit for today.
Labour’s first step towards our mission to get the NHS back on its feet and fit for the future
As a first step for change in the NHS, Labour will cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more evening and weekend appointments each week, paid for by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-doms.
We will introduce a national NHS programme to carry out more operations, appointments and diagnostic tests during the evenings or at weekends, paying staff overtime rates to do extra shifts out of hours.
In addition to this, we’ll get the NHS working differently, by setting up shared waiting lists and collaboration between hospitals, and trialling Neighbourhood Health Centres, bringing together doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, and mental health specialists under one roof.
We will also reform primary care to bring back the family doctor, harness the power of the NHS App to make it easier to get an appointment and reduce the workload on GPs by cutting red tape
At a glance: What Labour’s long term health plan means for you.
- Faster NHS treatment delivering two million more appointments a year by paying NHS staff more to work evenings and weekends.
- Fewer cancer deaths by improving early diagnosis for cancer by doubling the number of NHS scanners.
- 700,00 more urgent dentist appointments.
- Fast access to mental health services by recruiting 8,500 new NHS mental health staff.
- Return of the family doctor by cutting red tape so that patients can see the same GP each appointment if they choose to.
All fully funded by scrapping the loophole which allows some mega rich people who live in the UK to avoid paying tax. The mental health professionals including in schools is paid for by ending the tax breaks for private schools.
More on our mission to get the NHS back on its feet:
Child Health Action Plan
Labour's Child Health Action Plan will create the healthiest generation of children ever
Labour’s plan to get the NHS back on its feet
Ending unacceptable waits
Labour has a plan to drive down waiting times and get patients diagnosed earlier – with an extra 2 million operations, scans, and appointments in the first year. We will pay NHS staff properly for overtime to work evening and weekend shifts to bust the backlog – paid for by abolishing non-dom tax loophole for the very wealthy.
Dentistry Rescue Plan
Labour will deliver a Dentistry Rescue Plan to provide 700,000 extra appointments each year. We will introduce a targeted recruitment fund to get more dentists into the communities that need them most. And we will reform the NHS dentistry contract so that everyone who needs an NHS dentist can get one. All paid for by abolishing the non-dom loophole.
A Neighbourhood Health Service
At the heart of Labour’s reforms will be a plan to move care closer to communities. The NHS must become a Neighbourhood Health Service as much as a National Health Service – supported by cutting edge treatment and technology, to prevent illness. We will trial Neighbourhood Health Centres bringing together family doctors, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, and mental health specialists under one roof.
Technology and early diagnosis
Labour’s ‘Fit For The Future Fund’ will double the number of state-of-the-art CT and MRI scanners to ensure early diagnosis. We will put technology at a patients’ fingertips so they can take control of their own medicine, appointments and health needs.
At home tests for kidney disease that can send results to your smartphone; AI used to diagnose cancer from scans because we know it saves money and helps reduce missed cancer diagnoses.
Better Public Health
We need proper public health measures to keep our children healthy, like banning the promotion of vaping and junk food to young people and supporting an incremental ban on smoking. Our children’s health is too important not to take action.
Mental health
Labour will recruit 8,500 additional mental health staff to drive down waiting lists, funded through closing tax loopholes. Labour will make sure every young person will have access to a specialist mental health professional at school. With Labour’s Young Futures plan, every community will have an open access mental health hub for young people (11-24), providing early intervention through drop-in services. The schools’ element is paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools. The staffing is paid for by abolishing tax loopholes for private equity managers.