City MPs hear Portsmouth people’s views on how to build an NHS fit for the future

At the event hosted at St Mary’s Church in Fratton, local people shared their experiences and ideas with the city MPs to inform the government’s new Ten Year Health Plan for England.

Mr Morgan said it was vital that Portsmouth people’s voices were heard so that local NHS services receive the support they need.

The Labour Government is launching the biggest ever national conversation about the future of our NHS, and this event formed part of this consultation.

After 14 years of Conservative neglect and mismanagement, the Labour government is taking immediate action to get the NHS back on its feet and fit for the future.

Days after coming into office, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting ordered a full and independent investigation into the NHS that has since concluded that the NHS is in a ‘critical condition’.

Having received the diagnosis of an NHS that is broken, but not beaten, we now need to develop the plan to lift it off its knees and make it fit for the future.

This plan cannot be top-down or led from behind a desk in Westminster. It must be built in partnership with the people who use our NHS, the staff who work in it, NHS leaders, health experts, industry, and the wider public.

Residents in Portsmouth who were unable to attend the local event can share their experiences of using the NHS, their frustrations, as well as their ideas for how to improve it, via the online platform Change.NHS.uk, which will run for five months and is also available via the NHS app.

This insight will inform the government’s Ten Year Health Plan, due to be published in the Spring, which will deliver the unprecedented long-term reform needed to turn the NHS around.

Commenting on the event, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:

“After 14 years of mismanagement and decline under the Conservatives, the NHS is in a bad state and it’s Portsmouth people who are paying the price.

“That’s why it is vital that local people’s experiences, views and ideas form part of the new 10 year plan for the NHS.

“The number of passionate people who joined Amanda and me on Saturday shows how important it is to Portsmouth people that we build an NHS fit for the future so it is there for us when they need it again.”

Amanda Martin MP for Portsmouth North added:

“Today the NHS is going through the worst crisis in its history. But while the NHS is broken, it’s not beaten. Together, we can fix it. Whether it’s struggling to get a GP appointment or being stuck on an NHS waiting list. Now is the time to make sure we build an NHS that is fit for the future.

“It was fantastic to meet with so many local people in Portsmouth on Saturday alongside Stephen Morgan to discuss the future of our NHS. Some brilliant ideas which will inform Labour’s 10 Year Health Plan to make the NHS fit for the future.

“We all owe the NHS a debt of gratitude for moments in our lives when it was there for us, when we needed it most. Now we have a chance to repay that debt. We need to do everything we can to make the NHS fit for the future. If you couldn’t join us on Saturday, take this chance to have your say, using the link.”

You can pledge your support to Stephen’s campaign to cut NHS waiting lists here: https://www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/waiting-times/