NHS Funding

I pay tribute to our hard-working NHS and social care staff who do so much to make our health service one to be proud of. In the face of nine years of real-terms funding reductions and cutbacks, they are treating more patients than ever before, and they deserve our respect, admiration and support.

Yet despite the brilliant efforts of staff, many vulnerable people are waiting longer for treatment and the standards of care enshrined in the NHS Constitution are not being delivered. On all key performance measures the NHS is struggling to keep up with demand. Last year, 2.9 million people waited beyond four hours in A&E and waiting lists for consultant-led treatment have risen to a record 4.4 million. There are 100,000 vacancies across the NHS and our health service is short of over 40,000 nurses.

I am disappointed that the Government’s proposals outlined in the Queen’s Speech did not seek to rebuild confidence in the NHS and provide the health services that patients deserve. I have repeatedly pressed the Government to bring forward legislation that would guarantee safe staffing levels, alongside a fully funded workforce plan, to ensure our NHS can deliver safe care. However, Ministers have repeatedly delayed setting out their workforce plan.

Nevertheless, I welcome proposals in the Queen’s Speech for a Health Service Safety Investigations Bill, which aims to establish an independent body to investigate patient safety concerns and serious healthcare incidents. I will engage constructively with the Government on how to strengthen the independence and effectiveness of medical examiners.

More widely, I am disappointed that the Government has not brought forward proposals to repeal the Health and Social Care Act. Ministers had previously promised legislation to undo controversial aspects of that Act, which forces competitive tendering of contracts and increased privatisation of health services, and exposes our NHS to foreign competition in future trade deals.

While I voted for a motion on Wednesday to restore a publicly provided and administered NHS and protect it from future trade deals, Government MPs voted against it and it was defeated. I am concerned that this risks further privatisation of our health system and could open the door to US pharmaceutical companies forcing our NHS into buying more expensive medicines. I will therefore continue to press the Government to end privatisation of our NHS, repeal the Health and Social Care Act, and put public health before profit.