The Conservatives have left our country in a real mess. After years of mismanagement and incompetence, our NHS and social care services have been driven into the ground.
Labour’s inheritance is a country where more than six million people are still waiting for elective treatment – double the number in 2015 – and in which we have some of the worst waiting times on record for cancer services.
As GP surgeries are overwhelmed due to poor funding and staff shortages, many patients are turning to A&E in desperation when they can’t get the treatment they need.
People facing an emergency are driving their loved ones to A&E instead of calling for anambulance they fear won’t arrive in time.
The damage to our services goes even deeper than waiting times and poor outcomes. The condition of the NHS estate is dire too. Crumbling roofs, dangerous concrete and life-expired buildings blight our health services.
I am under no illusion that it will take time to repair the damage the Conservatives have inflicted on our health and care services.
Labour has made a start and I appreciate that the situation is dire – but with social care and health services in crisis, more is needed and it is needed now.
My party laid out our vision for health and care services at the election, and it is now our job to ensure that Labour effectively tackles the huge task of repairing the damage done by the last government.
The public want to see action now. They voted for the Liberal Democrats in large numbers because we put forward a compelling vision for our country’s health and care services. When YouGov polled the popularity of all the policies in the major parties’ manifestos, the top three were Liberal Democrat policies. All three related to health and social care. These were our pledges to boost cancer survival, ensure everyone can see their GP when they need to, and to implement free personal care which would ensure that patients can see a medical professional when they need to and get care and treatment on time.
We welcome some early initiatives from the incoming government. Increasing pay for health workers was long overdue and necessary.
However, Labour needs to rethink its approach to social care. Never have so many words been spoken, and so little change been delivered, on such a vital issue.
Not only do we need action to fix a social care system that just isn’t working as it should; we need to support the millions of unpaid carers who have long been forgotten by government. People caring for their loved ones, often family or close friends, save the UK billions of pounds in care costs.
Liberal Democrats have a whole list of ideas to fix the crisis in care, and we were the first party to have a chapter in our manifesto dedicated entirely to care and unpaid carers. We put forward several policies that could be implemented straight away. These included our call for a Carer’s Minimum Wage, set at a higher rate than the current minimum wage, and our pledge to establish a Royal College of Care Workers, to give these professionals the recognition and career progression they deserve.
Sustainable funding for social care is critical to any reform of the sector and we are ready to see Labour reach across the aisle and work with us to deliver the change millions of people need.
I believe Labour are serious when they say they want to clear up the mess left by the Conservatives. The time to get started is now.
This article first appeared in our print Spotlight report on Healthcare, published on 25 October 2024.
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