Daisy Cooper's Campaign for Our NHS
We all know that the Conservatives have plunged our NHS into crisis, but some of our recent research has uncovered just how bad it is.
Last year, a shocking 420,000 patients faced agonising 12-hour waits in A&E.
That’s 1,150 people waiting far too long, often in pain, every single day.
And it’s not just in A&E.
One in 20 patients waits at least four weeks for a GP appointment, with one in six waiting 2 weeks or more.
Without treatment, people are suffering for longer as their conditions worsen, meaning they may need more significant treatment when they are seen.
Let’s be clear - this is a Conservative-made crisis.
And yet this out of touch Government has no solutions to fix the mess they have made.
This week I pressed the Prime Minister on the lack of progress on his party’s manifesto pledge to build the so-called “40 new hospitals” and fix the ones that are crumbling down - but once again he dodged the question.
We Liberal Democrats believe that the NHS, and our nation’s health, is worth fighting for - so we will continue to fight this appalling Conservative Government on this healthcare crisis.
From speaking to so many of you, and voters on the doorsteps, we know that this really matters to you too. It’s why we campaign so hard on it.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
We have a great plan for the NHS. We’d fix the ‘front door’ to the NHS so people can see a GP or a dentist when they need to. We’d fix the ‘back door’ to the NHS by fixing social care so people can live in dignity day-to-day and not get stuck in hospital when they don’t need to be there.
We’d invest in public health and prevention, so fewer people get ill in the first place and tackle the system wide issues which the Conservatives have ignored: the huge number of NHS staff vacancies, long waiting times, and poor ambulance response times.
You can read all about our plans for the NHS and local health and care services in our pre-manifesto, For A Fair Deal.
I’d love it if you’d add your name to our GP Guarantee Campaign - where we’re calling for a legal right for everyone to see their GP within a week, or within 24 hours if urgently needed.
Will you back our GP Guarantee campaign?
We can fix the NHS, but only by removing the Conservatives.
The country is desperate for change and we need a General Election now to build a fairer, healthier country.
We can’t wait any longer.
Daisy Cooper MP (she/her)
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats,
Health & Social Care Spokesperson