Free healthcare – across the board

The NHS is in crisis. That is the result of 14 years of underfunding, a crisis in social care and acute social pressures affecting public health. The Tories are war on the NHS workforce – and some Tory MPs are saying we have to start paying for NHS treatments.

It’s more important than ever to defend the principle of free, timely healthcare, across the board – provided by publicly-owned services and a workforce that is well-paid and respected.

But we need to transform and modernise the health service, so that it promotes health and wellbeing for all, and makes maximum use of new technology, so that health workers can move from perpetual crisis management to the kind of 21st century system they dream of running.

I’m in no doubt: to save the NHS we’ll need more money across the board: for primary care; to employ more staff on decent wages; to create universal access to elderly social care and mental health services.

My vision

I want to see government setting mandatory public health targets – not just for local authorities but for the private sector – and building in the Marmot Indicators (on child mortality, wellbeing, decent housing etc) into all aspects of government policy.

Labour’s priority should be to provide free universal healthcare, social care, dentistry and mental health services for all. These are the foundations of a 21st century economy that puts people before profit.

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