Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said today (Thursday, June 27) that if Labour wins the General Election next week he can't promise Cornwall will get a new hospital, but a Labour government would work to deliver the health changes "Cornwall's crying out for".
Labour set out plans this week to end the 8am scramble for GP appointments and bring back the family doctor, as five million patients each month were denied a GP appointment last year. The party has also launched a pledge to improve dentistry in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, a region where 332,134 fewer check-ups and 110,711 fewer fillings were performed than targeted last year.
Mr Streeting addressed Cornwall's problems while on a nationwide media call to promote Labour's health plans. I pointed out that Cornwall is in a unique position compared to many of the other parts of the country he was talking to. With only one major hospital, which gets inundated during the busy tourism season exacerbating ambulance queues and waiting times at the Royal Cornwall Hospital's emergency department, what would Labour do to improve the situation at Treliske if they win next week, if indeed the party can do anything to solve the problem?
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"Firstly, the last Labour government delivered the shortest waiting times and the highest patient satisfaction in the history of the NHS. We did it before and with the support of people across Cornwall we can do it again," said the Shadow Health Secretary.
"That starts with delivering 40,000 more appointments every week, so we can cut NHS waiting lists, doubling the number of scanners so we can diagnose earlier and treat faster, and train up 8,500 more mental health workers so we can cut the mental health waiting lists. I think that will make a real difference to waiting times.
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"Similarly, as we train up thousands more GPs, cutting through the red tape that ties them up should make it easier for people to see a GP. Reviewing some of the funding constraints and ringfencing rules in General Practice which sees the absurd situation where we've got patients struggling to see a GP and GPs struggling to find jobs would also make a very quick difference.
"I think one of the aspects of Labour's approach to reform of the NHS, which I think is particularly important in a Cornish context, is about having services closer to where people live, and getting more services out of the hospital and into the community. In fact, Keir and I were in a General Practice in north west Leicestershire yesterday where they've actually got surgical theatre capacity, which they run three days a week.
"The GP was saying 'we'd like to do more and with a little bit more resource we can deliver some of those procedures cheaper than the local hospital can, so everyone's a winner', I was thinking then imagine if we can have neighbourhood health centres in communities across Cornwall which bring those sorts of expertise. I think we could make a real difference there."
He added: "We've got people like Jayne Kirkham and Perran Moon who have been a really strong voice for Cornwall within the Labour Party this side of the election. If they are Labour MPs in Cornwall they will have a very loud voice as part of a Labour government and be able to deliver the change. That really is the choice that people in Cornwall face next Thursday. Do they want to choose change with Labour or are they going to vote for no change with the Conservatives given what they've done to our NHS and our country?"
How are you going to fund these changes to the NHS - will Labour, as the Conservatives suggest, have to increase taxes in order to pay for all the proposed extra GPs and health staff?
Mr Streeting replied: "All of the policies in our manifesto are fully costed and funded - promises that we can keep and promises the country can afford. We've funded them through fair measures like clamping down on tax avoidance, closing non-dom loopholes, closing the loopholes enjoyed by private equity managers and ending the tax breaks that private schools enjoy.
"These are policies that mean we can fund our brilliant plan to cut NHS waiting lists as well as things like free primary school breakfast clubs, so that children start the day with hungry minds not hungry bellies. That's great for tackling child poverty, great for educational achievement and it's also a really good health policy."
Although a national problem, Cornwall is hit particularly hard by a lack of NHS dentistry. What would a Labour government do about that?
"Cornwall is particularly poorly served," agreed the Shadow Health Secretary. "A couple of things - one is standing up 700,000 emergency dentistry appointments will make a real difference to people who are currently resorting to DIY dentistry and literally pulling their own teeth out. We're also going to do dentistry contract reform. That's such a priority for me that I've asked the British Dental Association to come in on the Monday after the General Election if we win so we can start that process very early on.
"I recognise that we don't actually have a shortage of dentists across the UK. We just have a shortage of dentists working in the NHS and contract reform will make a real difference. What we'll do in terms of recruitment incentives and bonuses to encourage people to work in areas where there is a shortage of dentists will particularly help in rural and coastal communities like Cornwall, where actually there is a staffing shortage as well as a shortage of investment."
While the Conservative government has funded a new women's and children's hospital at Treliske, there's been talk over the years that Cornwall needs a new hospital to cope with the added pressure the Duchy's health system faces. Is that something that would be on a Labour government's radar?
"We've committed to the new hospitals programme. In terms of the new women's and children's hospital at the Royal Cornwall we are committed to seeing that through and I know enabling work's already under way. I think beyond that we're going to take an honest look at the books.
"I'd be hesitant to make promises this side of the election unless I can be 100 per cent sure I can keep them, but I do recognise the unique challenges in Cornwall and I'd love to have Cornish Labour MPs to work with as part of a Labour government to deliver the changes that Cornwall's crying out for."
