Stephen Morgan MP has endorsed a long-term plan for the NHS set out at the party conference in Liverpool, which will tackle the doctor and dental desert currently faced by Portsmouth people.
The plan will see the NHS undergo fundamental reform to secure the future and sustainability of the NHS, providing better service for patients and better value for taxpayers.
As part of a wider package of mission-led reform, Labour pledged to:
- Provide 2 million more operations, scans, and appointments a year on evenings and weekends, with £1.1 billion paid to staff in overtime
- Double the number of NHS scanners, buying AI-scanners which work 35% faster, to diagnose patients earlier
- Deliver 700,000 urgent dentistry appointments, recruit more dentist to areas most in need, introduce supervised toothbrushing for 3-5 year-olds, and reform of the NHS dental contract.
The plans will cost £1.6 billion in total and be paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status, which allows people living and working in Britain to pay their taxes overseas.
The next Labour government has also committed to arming the NHS with state-of-the-art equipment and new technology to cut waiting times.
The party is announcing an extra £171 million per year for a ‘Fit For The Future Fund’, which will be used to purchase the latest technology and replace outdated equipment. The fund is part of party’s plan to cut waiting lists, as well as shift the focus of the NHS to prevention.
Mr Morgan said the plans will help tackle the challenges being faced in accessing GPs and dental services in Portsmouth, by shifting resources into primary and community care to ensure the NHS is fit for the future and is there when people need it.
Commenting on the plans, City MP Stephen Morgan said:
“Bold reform of the NHS with a shift to prevention and primary and community care is what health practitioners in Portsmouth have been crying out for as the NHS comes closer and closer breaking point.”
“I am proud to endorse Labour’s mission led approach and long-term plan for the NHS which will see a move away from short term priorities to not only provide high-quality care but also to work with communities to improve health outcomes for the long term.
“Only Labour will deliver a sustainable NHS that Portsmouth people need and deserve.”
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, Wes Streeting MP said:
“Labour’s reform agenda will turn the NHS on its head. From a service focused on hospitals to one providing more care in the community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention.
“A neighbourhood health service as much as a National Health Service, pioneering cutting-edge treatment and technology, preventing ill-health, not just treating it. Better for patients, less expensive for taxpayers.
“Achieving our mission will take time, investment, and reform. Reform is even more important than investment.”
Mr Morgan on Friday visited Portsmouth Primary Care Alliance to hear more about work going on to recruit and retain doctors in the city.
He regularly speaks up for local health services and stands up for frontline staff in Parliament through lobbying for our NHS to be properly funded, staffed, and resourced, and will continue to pay visits to local NHS services to listen to concerns.
