NHS: Long-term Strategy

Natalie Elphicke Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend—avoidable and preventable. The Chancellor wrote an entire book about getting the number of preventable deaths down to zero, because that is where the figure should be, so to have 50,000 preventable, avoidable deaths reported is a badge of shame for the Government.

Worst of all, the height of the Prime Minister’s ambition is to stop making things worse. If we have 7.1 million people waiting for treatment, rather than 7.2 million people, apparently that is a job well done in the Prime Minister’s book. Our NHS needs to be rebuilt and renewed, but all he offers is managed decline. His five pledges have the bar set so low that even his predecessor could meet those promises.

If hon. Members want to know what real ambition and action look like, it is this: 89,000 more nurses; 44,000 more doctors; waiting times cut from 18 months to 18 weeks; 3 million more operations carried out each year; banning smoking in pubs; the largest hospital building programme in history promised and delivered; 100 new walk-in centres; GP appointments guaranteed within two days; free prescriptions for cancer patients; appointments with a cancer specialist within two weeks of referral; waiting lists cut to their lowest point in history; and patient satisfaction at its highest levels in history. That is the difference that a Labour Government make.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

On delivery by Labour, over the many years of a Labour Government, Dover and Deal saw its health service absolutely decimated, service by service. What has happened under a Conservative Government? There has been a new hospital built for Dover, the first dementia village in the country, built for Dover and Deal, one of the first 40 diagnostic covid hubs, delivered for Dover and Deal, and a new GP training centre, delivered for east Kent. Of course, there is more to do on health, but we have the plan—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Order. Interventions must be brief by definition.