Dan's Plan for the NHS
Concerns about the NHS are top of many residents’ priorities, according to the survey being carried out by the Liberal Democrats in West Worcestershire.
Repeated stories in the media about staff shortages – over 130,000 in the NHS nationally - have added to people’s worries, as is the ever-increasing waiting list for operations of over seven million. Despite your concerns, the Conservative Government have been slow to act.
Besides the staffing problems there are delays in discharging people from hospital, even though there is no medical reason for them to stay. This leads to delays in admitting patients, leading to queues of ambulances for Accident and Emergency, which again leads to delays in ambulances answering 999 calls.
We are caught in a cycle of failure. The Conservatives have consistently promised a solution to reducing NHS waiting lists. From staffing to building 40 new hospitals, the government has failed to get to grip with the situation. We need to change the approach. And that means a change of MP for West Worcestershire.
Cllr Dan Boatright-Greene
Dan's plan for the NHS
The Liberal Democrat Fair Deal includes:
✅ Accessible GP Services: Ensuring everyone can see their GP within seven days, or within 24 hours if urgent, investing in the training, recruitment, and retention of GPs and freeing up more of their time.
✅ Overhauling NHS Dentistry: Ending the rise in “dental deserts” by improving the availability of NHS appointments and eliminating the burden of private care costs, both of which are leading to people performing DIY dentistry - with devastating outcomes.
✅ Boosting Cancer Survival Rates: Establishing a legal right for cancer patients to start treatment within two months of an urgent referral.
✅ Healthcare Workforce Strengthening: Recruiting, training, and retaining more doctors and nurses.
✅ Tackling the Ambulance Crisis: Addressing the life-threatening response times in our ambulance services including by providing emergency funding.
✅ Fixing the Social Care Crisis: Carers should be properly paid and valued for the essential, skilled work they do. Everyone deserves high-quality social care if they need it. We’ll be covering our full plan for social care in an upcoming edition of our ‘For a Fair Deal’ series.
Join Dan's campaign to save NHS Dentists
Dan has been campaigning to improve NHS dentists in West Worcestershire. Like many residents, we have struggled to gain access to affordable dentistry, and it is becoming a bigger problem every year.
The number of people who've seen an NHS dentist in Worcestershire has plummeted in recent years, shocking new figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.
Only 36.6% of adults in Worcestershire, were able to secure an appointment with an NHS dentist in the past two years. This is down from 48.2% who saw an NHS dentist in the two years up to 2018.
In a similarly desperate situation, only 48.2% of children in Worcestershire have been able to see a dentist in the last 12 months, despite the NHS recommending under-18s see a dentist at least once a year. This is down from 58.3% of children who had seen an NHS dentist in the year to 2018.
The stark figures were compiled by the House of Commons Library following a request by the Liberal Democrats.
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