| It is not asking much, surely? A National Health Service that helps you stay healthy, and makes sure that when you do fall ill you are treated quickly, irrespective of wealth or status. | |
| Yet despite the investment now going in – which Liberal Democrats so famously pressed the government to deliver – far too much is still wrong in the NHS. | |
Free personal careThose towards the end of their lives deserve the best possible care. Liberal Democrats will provide free personal care for elderly people and people with disabilities, for as long as they need it, funded out of our new 50 per cent rate on that part of people’s incomes over £100,000. In short, we will implement the recommendations of the independent Royal Commission on Long-Term Care. Liberal Democrats in government in Scotland have already achieved this for elderly people. |
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Cut unfair charges – free eye and dental checks, fewer prescription chargesTo reduce the risk of illness going undetected we will end the charges for eye and dental check-ups which deter people from coming forward for testing. It is also unfair that some people living with long-term conditions pay no prescription charges, while people with other, equally serious, conditions (such as cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis) have to pay. We will extend the range of long-term conditions which qualify for exemption from prescription charges, based on an independent review. |
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Put patients first – more doctors and nurses, free from Whitehall meddlingWe will complete NHSplans to recruit at least an extra 8,000 more doctors, 12,000 more nurses and 18,000 more therapists and scientists by 2008. That will cut waiting times and improve the quality of care. Doctors, nurses and therapists are highly trained and dedicated health professionals, while ministers and civil servants are not. |
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| Liberal Democrats will hack away the red tape and abolish the absurd targets set by government, and free frustrated health professionals from demoralising government meddling. Clinical decisions should be taken by health professionals and local investment will be determined by locally elected and accountable people who can be removed by local people if they get it wrong. Scrapping unnecessary centralised targets will mean that your local hospital will have the time and flexibility to put patients first, providing personalised care and cleaner hospitals and treating the sickest the quickest. | |
High-quality dental careMany people can’t find an NHSdentist to take them on. We will reform NHSdental contracts so that more dentists are encouraged to do more NHSwork. This will rebuild the relationship between the dental profession and government which has been badly damaged under Conservatives and Labour. Personal Dental Plans will set out how frequently people should have a check-up, how better to look after their teeth and, for those with serious dental problems, their future course of treatment. |
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Give people more control over their healthcareWe will encourage regular health ‘MoTs’ tailored to individual patients’ needs, with wider access to screening and blood pressure and cholesterol tests. Tens of thousands of patients die in the NHS every year without access to specialised care and pain management. |
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| We will prioritise extending choice and access to these services, including more support for hospices. People with long-term conditions should be entitled to an agreed Personal Care Plan, setting out their course of treatment, where and when they will be treated, and what other help, such as social care, they will receive. We will introduce new legislation to safeguard the rights and welfare of people with mental health problems, allowing them to exercise more control over their treatment. We will end inappropriate age discrimination within the NHS; for example, many older women are not currently invited for the routine breast cancer screening which could save their lives. | |
Prevention is as important as cureWe will concentrate on helping people stay healthy, as well as caring for them when they fall ill. According to the NHS report, Securing our Future Health, the Government’s failure to tackle the unnecessary causes of ill-health will cost the NHS an extra £30 billion a year by 2022. If the causes of ill-health aren’t tackled, the NHS of the future won’t be able to cope – so we will give people the information and opportunities to make healthy choices, for example through clearer food and alcohol labelling. |
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| To improve children’s health, on top of plans to increase funding for school meals, we will introduce minimum nutrition standards for school meals, as we already have in Scotland; we will restrict advertising of unhealthy food during children’s television programmes; and we will require food and drink sold in vending machines on school premises to meet minimum health and nutrition standards. Because second-hand smoke kills, we will ban smoking in all enclosed public places. Our policies as a whole will help tackle other causes of ill-health, such as poverty, pollution and poor housing. | |
Yet despite the investment now going in – which Liberal Democrats so famously pressed the government to deliver – far too much is still wrong in the NHS. |
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Older people needing basic care, such as feeding, dressing and washing, are too often forced to pay – sometimes even to sell their homes – despite the Government’s own Royal Commission report saying this is wrong. |
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Instead of doctors and nurses being freed up to give their best to patients, Labour ministers try to pull the strings with pointless targets and endless bureaucracy. Instead of clean wards and the most modern equipment, MRSA and other superbugs are spreading, and scanners lie idle for lack of trained staff. |
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Labour and Conservative politicians talk about ‘choice’ – but health care isn’t like choosing a supermarket or a pair of shoes. I believe that choice has a place in the NHS, but I don’t subscribe to the false idea that choice will solve all its problems. When you have a heart attack or a serious accident, and are rushed to hospital, no one wants to know that if they could have had the choice there’s a hospital fifty miles away with better funding and better equipment. What people want is their own local hospital well-funded, well-staffed and well-equipped to give them the best possible chance to survive and recover. |
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My diagnosis for the NHS is simple really – and the Liberal Democrats share it. More doctors, nurses and health professionals on the front line, free to take professional decisions on the basis of patient need, speedier diagnosis, and effective treatment. Labour’s red tape, and Conservative private subsidies, make no sense. Julia Neuberger - Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson in the Lords and former Chief Executive of the leading health policy institute, the King’s Fund |
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Green Action |
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Clean air and waterPollution in the air, in water and in the food chain causes or aggravates many illnesses as well as destroying the environment. We support the adoption of the EU Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Directive. This will mean that information becomes available to the public on the consequences of exposure to all chemicals in daily use and that those of high concern are replaced by safer alternatives. |
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Promote walking and cyclingFewer school-run car journeys means less pollution, less congestion and fewer road deaths. Children walking or cycling to school also get fitter – but the journey must be safe. Liberal Democrats will encourage and promote nationally what many Liberal Democrat councils already do locally, such as ‘Safe Routes to School’ with calmed traffic, safe pavements, good lighting and adults on hand to conduct ‘walking buses’. We will also provide more cycle routes and reform planning rules to make sure that key services are more easily accessible by foot or bicycle. This will benefit adults as well as children. |