NHS report is ‘wake up call’ to save health and care services in Shropshire

The Lord Darzi report into the state of the NHS must be a wake-up call for the Labour Government to rescue health and care services in rural counties like Shropshire, Helen Morgan MP has said.

The report states that the NHS is in a ‘critical condition’ and that since 2015, the NHS has missed every target for A&E, cancer, and hospital treatment wait times.

Helen Morgan said that the Labour Government must make good on their election pledges and urgently invest in NHS services. The MP added that she felt rural areas had been ‘left behind’ over many years, and required additional investment to deal with an ageing population and the higher cost of providing services like care due to longer travel times.

In wake of the report, Liberal Democrat MPs have called on the Labour Government to make fixing the NHS and care its top priority, to recruit more GPs, and enter cross-party talks on tackling the crisis in social care.

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, said, “This report must act as a wake-up call to fix health and care services in Shropshire, which have been left behind over many years by governments that have refused to invest.

“In recent weeks and months, I’ve heard from countless people who are struggling to see a GP or NHS dentist, can’t access the care they need, or who have had horrendous experiences with ambulance and A&E waiting times. People shouldn’t tolerate this or get used to this level of crisis in our NHS – it is a scandalous situation.

“The top priority of the Labour Government must be fixing our NHS and social care service so that people can finally feel secure knowing that they’ll have a quick response if they need an ambulance, see a GP when they need to, and get the care they deserve.”