Our NHS is broken - but not beaten

Every single week, one issue comes up more than any other—the state of our NHS. And for me, this isn’t just political, it’s personal. Before I became your MP, I worked in the NHS for several years. I saw first-hand the incredible dedication of staff doing their best in a system that was stretched to breaking point. I saw the cracks forming long before I stepped into Parliament.

Now, every week, I hear from people facing the consequences. Parents whose children are waiting a year for mental health support. Families stuck on waiting lists for months. People unable to find a NHS dentist taking on new patients. These aren’t one-offs, they’re part of a bigger, deeply worrying pattern.

After more than a decade of Conservative underfunding and mismanagement, our NHS has been pushed to its limits. Waiting lists have exploded, staff are overstretched, and patients are left feeling let down. Despite the valiant efforts of hardworking NHS staff, the trust that once defined our health service is wearing thin.

But things are changing.

Earlier this month, our Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, laid out Labour’s ten year plan to rebuild the NHS, not just patch it up, but make it fit for the future. We’re shifting the NHS from constant crisis to one that delivers care with dignity, speed, and compassion.

And I know what you might be thinking - will it take ten years before we see any real change? The answer is no. We’re already making progress.

In just one year, we’ve delivered over 4.2 million extra appointments, more than double our target. Waiting lists are falling and are now at their lowest level in two years. Over 100,000 more patients have been treated on time. We’ve recruited more than 1,700 new GPs, started reforming the broken NHS dental system, and made the biggest investment in hospices in a generation. All backed by a record £29 billion a year in funding.

That’s real, tangible progress. But we’re not stopping there.

Our ten year plan is about transformation. We’re moving care closer to home, rolling out local health centres where you can see a GP, nurse, therapist and more - all under one roof. We’re using digital tools to cut down on time-consuming admin and free up staff to focus on what matters most: caring for patients. Prevention is always better than cure, so we’re shifting from treating illness to preventing it, with mental health support in every school, better access to healthy food, and wearable tech to help people manage their health from home.

This is how we build an NHS that works, not just for today, but for the future. One that’s there when you need it, where you need it. One that lives up to the promise of care from cradle to grave.