THE NHS is broken and Labour has rightly pointed out the Conservative government's responsibility.

Failures include: community services hollowed out, more than 6 million people on hospital waiting lists (double the number since 2015), and the number of fully qualified GPs in England falling by almost 500 since 2019 despite promises to increase the number by 6000.

So far the new Labour government has brought forward only two pieces of health legislation for this parliamentary session and none on social care.

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Social care is the elephant in the room with 500,000 people on waiting lists for care in residential settings or at home, and social care capacity suffers from a distinct lack of staffing.

This week the promised ‘diagnostic’ review of the NHS will be published, and this will form the basis of the Labour government’s approach.

Fixing the NHS will be a significant challenge and will require proper funding. Whether Labour will find the money is a key question. However long-term investment will lead to decreasing sickness and an increase in the workforce and productivity. This is good for patients and better for the public purse.

Key indicators of whether Labour will be moving in the right direction are early access to healthcare especially for mental health, saving GP surgeries by increasing the number of full-time equivalent GPs by 8000, sorting out NHS dentistry, investing in hospitals and surgeries as buildings are falling apart, and addressing social care which soaks up NHS resources.

It is generally much cheaper to look after individuals in the community, either in a residential setting or at home, rather than leaving them stuck in a hospital bed.

Are Labour up to the challenge? Time will tell but any viable solution will not be rooted in central state structures but local communities.

Regards

Luigi Gregori

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