Labor can’t promise Cornwall will get a new hospital if it wins

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said today (Thursday 27 June) that if Labor wins next week’s general election he cannot promise Cornwall a new hospital, but a Labor government will work to brings health changes. “.

Labor this week put forward plans to end the 8am scramble for GP appointments and bring back the GP as five million patients each month were turned away last year. The party also launched a pledge to improve dentistry in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, a region where 332,134 fewer check-ups and 110,711 fewer fillings were carried out than targeted last year.

Mr Streeting addressed the issues in Cornwall during a national media appeal to promote Labour’s health plans. I pointed out that Cornwall was in a unique position compared to many of the other parts of the country he was talking to. With only one major hospital being flooded during the busy tourist season, exacerbating ambulance queues and waiting times at the Royal Cornwall Hospital emergency department, what would Labor do to improve the situation at Treliske if they win the week future, if the party can really do? something to solve the problem?

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“Firstly, the last Labor government delivered the shortest waiting times and highest patient satisfaction in the history of the NHS. We’ve done it before and with the support of the people of Cornwall we can do it again,” said the Shadow Health Secretary.

“This starts with delivering 40,000 more appointments every week so we can cut NHS waiting lists, double the number of scanners so we can diagnose earlier and treat faster and train 8,500 more workers in mental health so we can cut mental health waiting lists. I think that will make a real difference to the wait time.

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“Similarly, as we train thousands more GPs, removing the red tape that ties them up should make it easier for people to access a GP. Looking at some of the funding constraints and capping rules in general practice, which sees the absurd situation where we have patients struggling to see a GP and GPs struggling to find work would also make a difference very fast.

“I think one of the aspects of Labour’s approach to NHS reform, which I think is particularly important in a Cornish context, is to have services closer to where people live and to get more services out of hospital and into community. In fact, Keir and I went to a GP practice in North West Leicestershire yesterday where they actually have an operating room capacity, which I run three days a week.

“The MD was saying ‘we’d like to do more and with a bit more resources we can deliver some of these procedures cheaper than the local hospital can, so everybody’s a winner’, I was thinking, then imagine if we can have a neighborhood. community health centers in Cornwall, bringing that kind of expertise, I think we could make a real difference there.

He added: “We have people like Jayne Kirkham and Perran Moon who have been a very strong voice for Cornwall within the Labor Party this part of the election. If there are Labor MPs in Cornwall, they will have a very strong voice as part of it. of a Labor government and be able to make the change, that really is the choice facing the people of Cornwall next Thursday. Do they want change with Labour, or will they vote for no change with the Tories, given what they have done for the NHS and our country?”

How will you fund these changes to the NHS – will Labor, as the Tories suggest, have to raise taxes to pay for all the proposed extra GPs and medical staff?

Mr Streeting replied: “All the policies in our manifesto are fully calculated and funded – promises we can keep and promises the country can afford. We have funded them through fair measures such as curbing tax evasion, closing non-dom loopholes. , closing loopholes enjoyed by private equity managers and ending tax breaks enjoyed by private schools.

“These are policies that mean we can fund our brilliant plan to reduce NHS waiting lists, as well as things like free breakfast clubs in primary schools, so children start the day with hungry minds, not hungry bellies. It’s great for fighting child poverty, great for educational achievement and it’s also very good health policy.”

Although it is a national problem, Cornwall is particularly hard hit by the lack of NHS dentistry. What would a Labor government do about it?

“Cornwall is particularly poorly served,” agreed the shadow health secretary. “A couple of things – one is that 700,000 emergency dental appointments will make a real difference to people who are currently resorting to do-it-yourself dentistry and literally pulling their teeth out. We will also reform the dental contract. My priority is that I have asked the British Dental Association to come in on the Monday after the general election if we win so that we can start this process very early.

“I recognize that we don’t actually have a shortage of dentists in the UK. We just have a shortage of dentists working in the NHS and contract reform will make a real difference. What we will do in terms of recruitment incentives and bonuses. encouraging people to work in areas where there is a shortage of dentists will particularly help in rural and coastal communities like Cornwall where there is actually a shortage of staff as well as a lack of investment.”

While the Conservative government has funded a new women’s and children’s hospital at Treliske, there has been talk over the years that Cornwall needs a new hospital to cope with the added pressure facing the Duchy’s health system. Is this something that would be on the radar of a Labor government?

“We are committed to the new hospital program. In terms of the new Royal Cornwall Women’s and Children’s Hospital, we are committed to seeing this through and I know that the enabling work is already underway. I think beyond that we’ll take an honest look at the books.

“I would hesitate to make promises this part of the election unless I can be 100% sure I can keep them, but I recognize the unique challenges in Cornwall and I would love to have Labor MPs from Cornwall to work with. part of a Labor government to bring the changes Cornwall is crying out for’.