Bridgwater and West Somerset Labour candidate Mick Lerry has said that he believes the NHS as we know it can’t survive another five years of the Tories.
“Labour has a better plan, to invest in and improve our NHS so that it has time to care for you and your family. The Tories’ plan is failing the NHS: more patients are waiting longer and it’s harder to get the care you need. The Tories won’t be able to fund the NHS as we know it with their plan for extreme spending cuts”.
There is a crisis in A&E – in the last 12 months, over a million people have waited more than four hours in A&E; more people are having long waits on trolleys before being admitted to a hospital bed; and more people are having to wait in ambulance queues outside hospital because A&E is full.
It’s harder to get see your family doctor – one in four patients wait a week or more for a GP appointment.
Mick said: ”Since David Cameron became Prime Minister 10,329 people have waited longer than four-hours in A&E at Taunton And Somerset NHS Foundation Trust”.
Under the Tories waiting lists for treatment are growing – they’re at their highest level for six years.
Under the Tories, cancer care has gone backwards and patients are missing out on the treatment they need. The two-month (62-day) wait from urgent referral for suspected cancer to first treatment for all cancers has been missed for a year. This means that 20,755 received their first treatment after 62 days over the last 12 months.
“Over the last 12 months 176 people in Taunton And Somerset NHS Foundation Trust have waited longer than two months to start their cancer treatment”, says Mick.
Labour has a better plan to turn things around and improve early diagnosis of cancer. We will give people a new guarantee of tests and results within one week by investing in new diagnostic capacity, paid for by a levy on tobacco companies.
Cuts to elderly care are making it harder for older people to get the care they need at home, meaning more end up in A&E. In England 300,000 fewer people over the age of 65 are receiving state funded social care services compared to 2009/10. (Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2013/14)
In the last 12 months across England 1,061,267 hospital bed days were lost because hospitals were unable to discharge patients. This cost the NHS £291,848,245 – money which could have paid for a year of home visits for over 41,000 elderly people, or 6,999 nurses. (Source: NHS England Delayed Transfers of Care, Last 12 Months)
“Labour will join up services from home to hospital, with a single point of contact for all who need it”, says Mick.
Labour has a better plan for the NHS
• A £2.5 billion Time to Care Fund to recruit 20,000 more nurses, 8,000 more GPs, 5,000 new home care workers and 3,000 more midwives, funded by a mansion tax on properties worth over £2 million, cracking down on tax avoidance and a levy on tobacco companies.
• Labour’s plans for a Time To Care Fund for our NHS would mean 1,500 more nurses in The South West.
• Labour’s plans for a Time To Care Fund for our NHS would mean 700 more GPs in The South West.
• We will guarantee that you can get a GP appointment within 48 hours – and on the same day for those who need it.
Cllr Mick Lerry, leader of the labour Group on Sedgemoor District Council
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Bridgwater and West Somerset.
Mobile: 07775905080
Email: michael.lerry@btinternet.com