Health and Social Care

Prevention is better than cure

All our policies are health policies, health is not isolated from diet, exercise and mental well-being.

Support local community health centres delivering a range of services for the local community.

Support for older people and their carers in the local community.

We oppose privatisation of the NHS, including the creeping privatisation under the Health and Social Care Bill.

Compassion in healthcare and the prevention of illness should be at the forefront of our healthcare service. We would: Decentralise healthcare responsibility to local government whilst ensuring that minimum service levels and national guidelines are provided to prevent a postcode lottery, and oppose further health service centralisation. Patient safety is essential – to improve this we will regulate all healthcare practitioners and therapists.

Provide accessible, local community health centres that provide a wide range of services, including out-of-hours care, and are an additional tier of healthcare rather than a replacement for your GP.

End phony patient choice. For most of us patient choice is much less important than getting good treatment at our local hospital or health centre – which is often, for many, the only practical choice.

Use increased taxes on alcohol and tobacco to fund overall real growth in the medium term of at least 1.2% per annum in the NHS budget.