This year is the NHS’s 60th birthday. The NHS is Labour’s proudest achievement: we created it, we saved it and we will always support it. Labour is committed to an NHS free at the point of need and with equal access for all, regardless of wealth.
Since 1997, Labour’s investment and reforms have transformed our health service: waiting lists and waiting times are down to their lowest ever, thousands of extra lives have been saved and patients now have a choice over which services they use.
Investment in the NHS has trebled since Labour came into office, with 35,000 more doctors and 80,000 more nurses.
Our investment has had real results for the NHS and for the people who rely on it. In 1997, many patients waited up to 12 hours in A&E, but now more than 98 per cent are seen in under four hours.
In 1997, a shocking 284,000 people spent over six months on waiting lists for inpatient treatment; last year, virtually nobody did. This year, nobody will wait more than 18 weeks between referral and the start of treatment.
Results have improved because Labour has set tough targets on waiting lists, patient care and hospital cleanliness, and put in the investment to ensure these targets can be met. Every hospital has carried out a ‘deep clean’ to ensure the highest standards of cleanliness and to cut infection rates.
Labour understands that hard working families need healthcare to be available close to their homes and workplaces, and open when they need it. That’s why we have built over 90 new NHS walk-in centres and over 650 one-stop primary care centres. It’s why we’ve invested £750 million in a new generation of modern, convenient community hospitals, why we’re building 150 new health centres, to be open 7 days a week from 8am till 8pm, and why we’re opening 100 new GP practices in areas with the worst provision.
And it’s why we have negotiated a fair deal with doctors so that more GP surgeries will open in the evenings and at weekends. Good health is about prevention as well as cure, and Labour is helping people to identify risks to their health and to make healthier choices for themselves and their families. All women aged 50-70 are entitled to free breast cancer screening every three years, and we will introduce screening for early signs of stroke, heart disease and kidney disease.
THE NHS MUST BE THERE FOR YOU WHEN YOU NEED IT, SO:
• In 2008 the time you have to wait before getting a hospital appointment will be the shortest since the NHS was established
• By 2009 the majority of GP surgeries will be open for at least one evening or weekend session every week
• By 2010 we will have opened 150 GP-led health centres from 8 until 8, seven days a week in the heart of our towns and cities for bookable and walk-in appointments
THE PUBLIC MUST BE ABLE TO TRUST THE NHS TO KEEP THEM SAFE, SO:
• In 2008 every hospital will be deep cleaned, with 3,000 more matrons to enforce cleanliness
• By March 2009 every non-emergency patient admitted will be screened for MRSA and by March
2011 we will screen all emergency admissions for MRSA as well
SO THE NHS BECOMES AS GOOD AT PREVENTING ILLNESS AS IT IS AT CURING IT:
• By 2009 every 13-year old girl will be offered a vaccination against cervical cancer
• By the end of 2010 we will have extended the ages at which adults are screened so that an extra 450,000 women are screened for breast cancer, and an extra 300,000 patients are screened for bowel cancer