Clive Jones has made safeguarding our local NHS his top priority. It's personal for Clive because he relied on local health services when he was diagnosed with cancer 15 years ago.
High-quality healthcare, free at the point of use, is essential for both individual freedom and national prosperity. Good health gives people the freedom to live the lives they choose, and a thriving economy needs a healthy population.
The Conservatives have plunged the NHS into crisis – as have the SNP in Scotland and Labour in Wales. They have run local health services into the ground, putting people, buildings and beds under immense pressure. With 112,000 staff vacancies in England alone, long waiting times, missed targets and poor outcomes, patient safety is being pushed into the danger zone.
People are no longer confident that when they need medical help they can get it. When they ring 999 they don’t know if they will get the emergency treatment they need in time. Millions are waiting for treatment, unable to work.
Liberal Democrats believe that everyone should get the care they need, when they need it. That’s why we would ensure everyone can get an appointment when they need one and get the crucial treatment they so desperately need.
In particular, we will:
Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Clive Jones has called for an emergency Health and Care Budget, to support local health services on the brink.
As the General Election campaign comes to an end, Liberal Democrat candidate Clive Jones has said voters across Wokingham are “ready for change” and that they’re fighting for every vote.
The UK’s sick pay rate is amongst the lowest in Europe, and the wider industrialised world, with a number of firms effectively paying as little as £1 per hour to full-time employees off sick in their first week and £3 per hour thereafter.
The number of NHS dentists leaving in Berkshire West, which includes Wokingham, has risen by 6% since 2018/19.
The Liberal Democrats have called for a new legal right for cancer patients to start treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral, as part of a plan to boost survival rates and improve treatment for those affected by the disease.
The Liberal Democrats have launched their General Election manifesto and outlined a plan to save health and care services. The manifesto offers a bold and fully costed £9bn plan to tackle the health and care crisis.
