Health and care services are one of my biggest priorities both as a campaigner and a representative. The Conservatives have thrown the NHS into crisis, which can be seen in overflowing A&E departments, hours on the phone for a GP appointment, and people waiting days for ambulances. Having served as the Deputy Chair of the Lancashire Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee where I worked to ensure safe, excellent services for everyone in Lancashire, I was a key voice in ensuring the Royal Lancaster Infirmary was not merged into a regional ‘super-hospital’ and I have also made improvements to health and care services, for example ensuring the Care Act was properly implemented in a local service.

The lack of home village appointments leaves my constituents at risk of conditions worsening and goes against everything we know to be best for patients and the NHS – early help, at the right place and at the right time.

We have a proud local tradition of community care, but it is increasingly under strain.

Access to primary care should not depend on a postcode lottery. Investment is needed to modernise local facilities, recruit more GPs, and improve transportation links for patients who need to travel for treatment.

However the Labour Government has shown hope that we can build a real Neighbourhood Health Service and hope that we can make everyone’s health better. The budget showed that the Government is committed to focusing on what matters most – the patients. 

More specifically, the Chancellor announced a £22bn increase in total health and social care revenue and capital funding as part of a two-phase Spending Review. On top of this, NHS England’s ring-fenced revenue budget will increase by 4.7% this year to £181.4bn and then another 3.3% next year to £192bn.

In real terms, this will cut waiting times with 40,000 extra elective appointments a week and build capacity for more than 30,000 additional procedures.

The Government has also addressed real practical issues that prevent medics working effectively; committing to investing more than £2bn in NHS technology and digital to run essential services and improve NHS productivity. This will free up staff time, ensure all Trusts have Electronic Patient Records, improve cyber security and enhance patient access through the NHS App

Ultimately, the extra funding for NHS services allocated in the budget means that the NHS will become a service which is accessible, reliable and there for you when you need it.