CAMPAIGNERS marked the 76th anniversary of the NHS today by calling on Labour to take immediate action to save the crisis-hit service.
Though the party’s landslide general election victory put an end to Tory rule, which saw 14 years of destructive cuts to the NHS, outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak departed Downing Street with a deadly legacy: 7.57 million people still on waiting lists and 14,000 needless deaths in A&E last year.
New Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who in April announced plans to “reform” the NHS and rely on the private sector to cut treatment backlogs, barely managed to retain his seat, winning by a margin of just 508 votes.
Reflecting on the anniversary, Keep Our NHS Public co-chairman Dr John Puntis said the health service must be “restored in line” with its founding principles.
“Labour should reflect on the ambition and boldness of the 1945 Attlee government, undeterred by record debt and the ravages of war,” he urged.
“For those who still persist in claiming that the NHS is a bottomless pit and needs reform, not more funding, we remind them that under the Blair-Brown government NHS performance was improved by investing in staff and increased funding, allowing the NHS to be one of the best services in the world.”
We Own It director Cat Hobbs highlighted that the fact that Mr Streeting nearly lost his seat to independent candidate Leanne Mohamad “shows that voters weren't sold on his vision for the NHS.”
“Leanne made it clear she was ready to put patients first, not profiteers.
“She had signed our NHS Pledge to fund the NHS with an extra £40 billion a year to match other European countries, to end outsourcing and to reinstate the government's duty to care for everyone that was taken away in 2012.
“We call on Streeting to look seriously at these policies and what the NHS needs now.”
EveryDoctor chief executive Dr Julia Patterson warned that the NHS was in a “state of emergency” and called for immediate action.
She highlighted concerns about the state of primary care, where the problems include GPs requiring better funding and staff needing better support, deskilling and the recruitment of physicians associates and poor pay throughout the workforce.
“It is imperative that Streeting and [Sir Keir] Starmer listen to front-line NHS staff and experts to make a practical and safe plan for the NHS going forward,” Dr Patterson said.
