GENERAL ELECTION 2017: Spotlight on the NHS

Today we turn our attention to the Health Service and ask the candidates standing in North and South Swindon what their parties would do to secure its future.

The idea that the NHS should be free at the point of use is one, despite accusations to the contrary, that all the parties broadly subscribe to in their manifestos.

However, there are differing views on the extent to which some private sector involvement can contribute to that aim.

Of course, with or without private involvement, the cost of running the NHS continues to rise.

The country has a growing population that is living longer; healthcare professionals are faced with more complex medical conditions and the need to manage them, in hospitals and, crucially, in the community, well into later life.

The Conservatives have pledged a minimum real-terms increase of £8bn in spending over the next five years and an increase in real terms funding per person for every year of the Parliament. However, it isn’t immediately clear where that money will come from and how much of it is new spending.

The strategic transformation programme designed to bring about efficiency savings worth £22bn would continue - it has been criticised for making the closure of some hospitals and other facilities inevitable.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have both pledged £6bn. Labour will find the money through increasing taxes on higher earners and the Lib Dems will put a penny on each pound of income tax.

Labour say the strategic transformation programme would be halted and reviewed which could leave them searching elsewhere for the up to £22bn of savings it was supposed to achieve but it will avoid any imminent closures.

UKIP has promised an additional £3bn a year and says this would equate to 20,000 nurses and 10,000 doctors. They argue this could be funded as a result of savings gained from leaving the EU and reductions in Foreign Aid spending.

The Greens say they would close the NHS spending gap and provide an immediate cash injection but it is not clear how much that would equate to.

More so now than ever, the way the parties are planning to approach care in a community setting will have a direct impact on every voter.

Local authorities across the country are struggling to shoulder the unprecedented financial strain of providing social care and it is widely acknowledged that a new plan at a national level is needed.

Labour has outlined proposals for a National Care Service at a cost of £3bn a year initially in a bid to provide a more joined up approach.

The Conservatives say that no one with less than £100,000 in assets will have to pay for care - the current rate is £23,250.

But the elderly will have to pay for care in their own homes, albeit with an as yet undetermined cap in place, a move that has been dubbed a ‘dementia tax’ by opponents.

Other issues raised by our candidates include investments in infrastructure, caps on public sector pay increases, GP appointment availability and the retention and recruitment of doctors and nurses.

See what the candidates have to say below on all these issues and more.

NORTH SWINDON

Justin Tomlinson (Conservative)

"Thanks to our strong economy we have been able to invest in our NHS, including an additional £10bn, £425m for A&E's and £2bn for adult social care.

"In Swindon, working with healthcare professionals and my colleague Robert buckland, we have secured a 50 per cent increase in local healthcare funding to £127m by 2021, as well as confirmation of a new dedicated radiotherapy unit at the GWH.

"There have been 11,000 more operations this year at the GWH and 13,000 more diagnostic tests. We have also seen 142 more doctors and 340 more nurses since 2010.

"But the pressures continues to increase which is why the Conservatives have pledged to increase NHS spending by a minimum of £8bn in real terms over the next five years.

"Only with a strong economy, can the NHS continue to receive the funding it needs."

Mark Dempsey (Labour)

"Labour built our Great Western Hospital, cut waiting lists to record low levels, and achieved the highest satisfaction rating of the NHS in history.

"However the Tories have left our Great Western Hospital at breaking point with the Red Cross stating our NHS faces a humanitarian crisis. 

"Labour will rebuild the NHS with an extra £7bn per year to ensure patients get the world-class quality of care they need.

"By guaranteeing access to treatment within 18 weeks, we will take one million people off NHS waiting lists by the end of the next Parliament."

Liz Webster (Liberal Democrats)

"This Tory 'dementia tax' means your kids will have to sell off your family home to pay for your social care debts after you die.

"Whereas if you’re diagnosed with cancer you would pay nothing.  This is unnecessary, unfair and cruel.

"The Lib Dems propose to add one per cent to income tax to put £6bn per year towards the NHS and social care. A simple common sense solution to a growing problem in our aging society.

"If you elect me as your next MP, I will fight for fairness for suffers of mental illness and against this wicked Tory 'dementia tax'.

"The Lansley reforms of 2011 cost several billions and are now seen as retrograde and pointless.

"Some parts of the NHS are in total meltdown, with a £10m hole in NHS Swindon's finances.

"Poor planning of GP's and nurses' training – now relying heavily on locums and temps at great expense.

"Poor pay rises for nurses, leading to heavy losses from the profession.

"Lib Dems common sense approach to put 1p on income tax to fund properly the NHS and social care.

"Tories cannot – as before – be trusted with the NHS."

Andy Bentley (Green Party)

"We will create a caring Britain by using this countries’ wealth to invest in our health.

"For decades, the NHS has been the most effective and efficient health service in the world. But year on year funding cuts have left it on its knees. NHS staff have been left overburdened and mistakes are becoming more common.

"Green MPs will stand up for our NHS, our patients, and our doctors.

"We will reverse the decline in funding for the NHS and plant the seeds for a new and flourishing public health service to ensure that everyone can access a GP, and hospitals can reduce waiting times.

"We will ensure that people never have to reach into their pockets to pay for health treatment, and all services are delivered by public services, not private companies.

"We would bring spending on mental health care in line with spending on physical health care.

"We would provide free social care for the elderly and all those who need it.

"We will work alongside the public and health professionals to deliver change for the common good, never just forcing change from above."

Steve Halden (UKIP)

"Net immigration is one million every three years. The population of Britain has increased by five million since 2004.

"The NHS has been overwhelmed by increasing demand so UKIP would invest an additional £9bn a year in the NHS.

"A further £2bn would be spent on social care for the elderly. UKIP would scrap hospital parking charges.

"This investment would be paid for by cuts to the foreign aid budget.

"Medical students committed to working in the NHS for at least ten out of the fifteen years after they qualify, would not have to pay tuition fees."

SOUTH SWINDON

Robert Buckland (Conservative)

"We will continue to protect and improve our NHS so that the service continues to meet the needs of everyone and provides free care at the point of use.

"We will increase NHS spending by a minimum of £8bn over the next five years, delivering an increase in real funding per head of the population.

"Continue to increase the number of students in medical training by 1,500 each year.

"Building and upgrading of primary care facilities, mental health facilities and hospitals.

"Improve access for patients to digital services, booking appointments online, ordering repeat prescriptions, as well as controlling how their personal data is used."

Sarah Church (Labour)

"Cuts to NHS funding under the Conservatives have caused a crisis.

"Nearly 2000 people waited longer than four hours for treatment at the Great Western Hospital A&E in March, and 28 per cent of patients in Swindon wait a week or more for a GP’s appointment.  

"Labour will lift the public sector pay cap and fund free parking in NHS England.

"Labour will work towards a National Care Service to integrate health and social care to end the outrage of elderly and vulnerable patients being stranded in hospital with nowhere to go. Unlike the Tories, Labour will stick to its promise to guarantee access to treatment within 18 weeks from referral, and treatment within four hours in A&E.

"The funding crisis is also a staffing crisis caused by low wages, highly pressurised working conditions and the high cost of training.

"Labour will reinstate the student nursing bursary and scrap university tuition fees. 

"In 2016, the Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust received a rating of 'Requires Improvement' from the Care Quality Commission and had a deficit of £9.744m.

"Labour will invest £30bn nationally in NHS staff, resources and infrastructure to relieve this crisis, from funds raised from increased income tax from the top five per cent of earners, increased tax on medical insurance and halving fees paid to management consultants."

Stan Pajak (Liberal Democrats)

"Liberal Democrats will always fight to protect our health and care system, and to ensure it can carry on delivering for future generations.

"We are not in the business of making empty promises without funding or allowing the Conservative revealed cruel 'dementia tax'.

"We will save the NHS by putting a penny in the pound on income tax to give the NHS and social care services the cash they need.

"We would limit the amount elderly people have to pay for social care.

"We would protect and expand mental health services, improve nurses pay and support GPs.

"Our policy would bring an additional £21.58m for the NHS and social care in Swindon."

Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn (Green Party)

"Greens believe in publicly-owned public services. Over recent years, our NHS has been deliberately defunded, dismantled and divested into private, profit-making hands.

"Through an NHS Reinstatement Act, we’ll reverse the decline in NHS funding, and plug the deficit hole that’s been created.

We’ll make good on the Conservatives’ failed commitment to give mental health parity with physical health by ensuring equal funding and investment.

"We will lock-in a government commitment to ensure that the NHS is only funded by public money. Using progressive taxation, we can do all these, and invest in social care for the elderly and disabled.

"The NHS belongs to us all, staff, patients, and those in good health who care about the wellbeing of their neighbours.

"A healthy society means looking after each other, so people providing our services, colleagues, employees, our childrens’ teachers and their schoolfriends, and the volunteers who enrich our community, can access the care we’d want for ourselves.

"Healthcare should not only mean addressing medical problems, but better caretaking to prevent health issues as well, and that means a wiser, wider approach to all our policy-making including food, transport, and housing.

"Also, student nurses need their bursaries back!"

Martin Costello (UKIP)

"We shall use money saved on foreign aid and our membership fees to the EU in order to fund 20,000 nurses and 10,000 doctors to revive the battered NHS.

"However, before throwing money at the problem we shall look at efficiently savings by stripping out unnecessary middle management and looking to ensure we are getting the best deals from supplier contacts.

"We will stop the creeping privatisation to ensure the envy of the world remains a free and accessible service to all.

"UKIP would like to see the NHS run in a more military fashion and cut out the bureaucracy.

"This will allow the doctors and nurses to do their jobs without all the red tape.

"I want to see an increase in mental health funding given that the greatest cause of death in under 35’s is suicide. 

"35,000 bed days are lost every month because of delayed transfers of care between NHS and social care system.

"The problems caused by our disconnected health and social care system will not be resolved unless the two are fully integrated.

"UKIP will establish a Department for Health and Care, and create a sustainably funded social care system assimilated into the NHS."

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the issue of Brexit.

If you have questions that the candidates haven't been able to answer here, why not join us on June 5 for General Election Question Time.

The Swindon Advertiser has joined forces with the Wyvern Theatre to host a hustings event just a few days before the country goes to the polls.

Each of the candidates up for election will speak and take part in discussions on jobs, education, health, the economy, and Brexit.

Questions will be taken on the night, but you can also send your questions in advance by email to: questiontime@swindonadvertiser.co.uk between now and June 2.

Please mention either Swindon South or Swindon North in your email, depending on which constituency you are from.

The event will start at 7pm. Is free to attend but reserving a ticket from the Wyvern Theatre website is advised.

Visit swindontheatres.co.uk/Online/tickets-general-election-swindon-2017 to find out more.