On 17th February, I welcomed the news that the Government has delivered on its ‘first step’ promise of delivering 2 million extra NHS appointments in our first year in power- 7 months early!
When we came into Government last year, everyone could see that the NHS was broken after years of negligence, but we knew it wasn’t beaten. Our government promised to rebuild our NHS, and now, we are delivering on that promise.
I know that we are far from 'job done' on the NHS. But while huge challenges remain, not least some crucial, long-term reforms on community care, prevention, social care and more, we must continue to deliver short-term improvements, too.
Over the next year, 14 new surgical hubs will be created, and three others expanded, which will deliver 30,000 more procedures. And, supported by £1.5 billion in last year’s Autumn budget, more are expected to open over the next few years, too.
But as important as this national effort is, there are other encouraging signs locally, too.
I recently visited the University of Suffolk’s Dental CIC, which has already treated thousands of people here in Ipswich, and, earlier in January, I also visited the East of England Ambulance Service’s new, state-of-the-art ambulance hub here in our town. These both have the potential to make a real, tangible difference for local people here in Ipswich.
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