City MPs invite Portsmouth residents to share views on how to build an NHS fit for the future

Portsmouth MPs are calling on local people to join them in helping to fix our NHS.

The city MPs Stephen Morgan and Amanda Martin will be hosting a ‘Helping to build an NHS fit for the future’ drop-in event in the heart of Portsmouth to inform the new Ten Year Health Plan for England.

There will also be opportunities to provide specific feedback on your experience of local health services.

The event will take place at 10.30am until 12 noon on Saturday 14 December 2024.

Booking is essential and to apply for a place please sign up at:

www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/contact/upcoming-events/

The specific location will be sent via email prior to the event once a booking has been confirmed.

This drop-in event is open to everyone. Whether you are a member of the public or someone who works in the NHS, please come along to share your views and get your questions answered.

The Labour Government is launching the biggest ever national conversation about the future of our NHS, and this event forms part of this consultation.

After 14 years of Conservative neglect and mismanagement, the Labour government is taking immediate action to get the NHS back on its feet and fit for the future.

Days after coming into office, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting ordered a full and independent investigation into the NHS that has since concluded that the NHS is in a ‘critical condition’.

Having received the diagnosis of an NHS that is broken, but not beaten, we now need to develop the plan to lift it off its knees and make it fit for the future.

This plan cannot be top-down or led from behind a desk in Westminster. It must be built in partnership with the people who use our NHS, the staff who work in it, NHS leaders, health experts, industry, and the wider public.

Residents in Portsmouth who are unable to attend the local event can share their experiences of using the NHS, their frustrations, as well as their ideas for how to improve it, via the online platform Change.NHS.uk, which will run for five months and is also available via the NHS app.

This insight will inform the government’s Ten Year Health Plan, due to be published in the Spring, which will deliver the unprecedented long-term reform needed to turn the NHS around.

Commenting on the event, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:

“It is absolutely vital that Portsmouth people share their ideas for the future of our NHS, and make sure our voice is heard.

“We all know the challenges facing the NHS after 14 years of mismanagement and decline under the Conservatives. Whether it’s struggling to get a GP appointment, or being stuck on an NHS waiting list. Now is the time to make sure we build an NHS that is fit for the future.

“I’d encourage all constituents to sign up for our drop-in event in December, so you can share your experiences and speak with us about how we can fix our NHS.”

Commenting on the event, Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin said:

“If you rely on, work in, or care about our NHS – we’re asking you to join us and contribute to our new Government’s 10 Year Health Plan to help build a health service fit for the future.

“We all owe the NHS a debt of gratitude for moments in our lives when it was there for us, when we needed it most. Now we have a chance to repay that debt. We need to do everything we can to get the NHS back on its feet.

“Our NHS is broken but not beaten. We need your help to get the NHS back on its feet and able to face the challenges of the future. Everyone is invited, spread the word and let’s make Portsmouth’s voice heard.”

Launching the Change NHS public engagement, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

“My mum worked for the NHS, my sister worked for the NHS and my wife still works for the NHS – so I know firsthand how difficult it has been for staff, and for patients battling against a broken system for over a decade. But it’s time to roll up our sleeves and fix it.

“We have a clear plan to fix the health service, but it’s only right that we hear from the people who rely on the NHS every day to have their say and shape our plan as we deliver it. Together we can build a healthcare system that puts patients first and delivers the care that everyone deserves.

“We have a huge opportunity to put the NHS back on its feet. So, let’s be the generation that took the NHS from the worst crisis in its history and made it fit for the future.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

“Today the NHS is going through the worst crisis in its history. But while the NHS is broken, it’s not beaten. Together, we can fix it.

“Whether you use the NHS or work in it, you see first-hand what’s great, but also what isn’t working. We need your ideas to help turn the NHS around.

“In order to save the things we love about the NHS, we need to change it. Our 10 Year Health Plan will transform the NHS to make it fit for the future, and it will have patients’ and staff’s fingerprints all over it.

“I urge everyone to go to Change.NHS.uk today and help us build a health service fit for the future.”