The Labour Party has pledged to improve ambulance response times and shorten waits for emergency treatment if they are in government, leader Sir Keir Starmer said as he set out his party’s vision for the health service.
Starmer accused the Conservatives of neglecting the NHS, and said that Labour would increase staff training, funded by the scrapping non-domiciled tax status, to help bring down waiting times.
He claimed the NHS will not survive another five years under the Tories, whom he accused of not believing in their “heart of hearts” in the service’s core promise to ensure it is available for all those who need it and described a “cruel lottery of who lives and who dies” exists in Britain despite the NHS being founded to offer care for all those who need it..
“I want an NHS back on its feet – of course I do. But I also want an NHS that’s fit for the future,” Starmer said in a speech. “We’ll leave no stone unturned when it comes to finding new ways to cut waiting lists.”
Starmer said that Labour would ensure ambulances arrive within seven minutes for cardiac arrests, and would aim for waits of no more than four hours in A&E.
He pledged to reduce cardiovascular disease including heart attacks and strokes by 25% within a decade and would ensure that 75% of all cancer is diagnosed at stages one and two, making it easier to treat.
He added that patients would be allowed to visit nearby hospitals if faster treatment might be available compared to their local hospital. Labour would reform how people can get appointments with their local doctors, Starmer said, and give a fair pay agreement to help recruit and retain more carers.
As part of a focus on preventing poor health, Starmer said Labour would change advertising rules so that vaping, junk food and sugary snacks cannot be advertised to children.
Writing in the Guardian, the Labour leader also pledged to bring in a totally digital NHS
A Labour government would get hold of that NHS app and use it to drive forward a more patient-focused, responsive service. Get this right and it means moving to “a single front door to all NHS services” – fully digital patient records. In one place a patient will be able to book appointments, use appropriate self-referral routes, get reminders for checkups and screenings, receive the latest guidance on treatment and have the ability to take part in clinical trials
