Free healthcare – across the board

The NHS is in crisis. That is the result of more than a decade of underfunding, a crisis in the care system and acute social pressures affecting public health. The Tories are war on the NHS workforce. And some Tory MPs are now suggesting 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.

We have to redesign it so that it promotes health and wellbeing for all, and makes maximum use of new technology, so that health and social are workers can move from crisis management to the kind of 21st century system they dream of running.

We need more money across the board: for primary care; for more staff on decent wages; for universal access to elderly social care and access to mental health services for all who need them.

I want to see government setting mandatory public health targets – not just for local authorities but for industry sectors – 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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