Chuka Umunna MP

The creation of a high quality, free and universal healthcare service for everyone in Britain is a great Labour legacy.

Since entering government in 1997, the Labour Party has worked to ensure that the NHS is constantly improving, saving lives and helping communities.

More investment in front Line services

There are now 44,000 more doctors, and 89,000 more nurses than in 1997. Labour has also placed more focus on community services by creating 90 new walk-in health centres, over 650 one-stop primary care centres and furthermore has pledged £750 million for the creation of a new generation of modern, convenient Community Hospitals.

The success of this investment is clear from the fact the in 2007, 33,000 more lives were saved from cardiovascular diseases than in 1996.

More operations and shorter waiting lists

There are now three million more operations carried out each year than in 1997, and double the number of heart operations. The waiting times for operations have also halved.

Since 1997 the Labour government has been committed to bringing down waiting lists and as a result, waiting times for treatment are at their lowest since records began.

Whatever your condition, you will not have to wait more than 18 weeks from a GP referral to the start of hospital treatment, and the overall number of people on waiting lists has been brought down by 600,000 since 1997.

Whereas in 1997 284,000 patients were waiting for over six months for treatment, today the average wait for inpatient treatment stands at 4.5 weeks. The Tories, however, plan to abolish targets for the reduction of waiting lists, which will risk a return to the days of long waits and a poorer quality of healthcare.

Increased choice and better information for patients

In order to allow individuals a greater degree of control over their treatment, the Labour government has introduced an online Choose and Book system. Once the patient and GP have agreed that specialist care is necessary, the patient can go to www.chooseandbook.nhs.uk and pick an appointment on a date and time that fits comfortably around their commitments, at a hospital of their choice.

Furthermore, over three quarters of GP practices have begun to offer extended opening hours for at least one evening or weekend session per week in order to allow greater access to medical assistance.

In addition, people can now visit the NHS website to read or contribute to reviews of GP surgeries. This comparison service encourages GPs to push harder to ensure the highest levels of quality healthcare for their communities.

Improved Cancer Care

The Labour government has guaranteed that anyone with suspected cancer will see a cancer specialist within two weeks, and all prescriptions for individuals receiving treatment for cancer will be completely free.

Since 1996 cancer mortality rates for under-75s have decreased by 18.2%, saving nearly 9000 more lives in 2007 than in 1996.

The government has also renewed its drive towards prevention of cancer, and has offered all teenage girls a vaccination against cervical cancer, alongside providing services to help individuals quit smoking and banning smoking in public places.

The Tories plan to undo all of the hard work Labour has put into ensuring that waiting lists are reduced by abolishing targets, and ignoring the benefits that they have brought to communities and individuals across the country.

All of the above successes demonstrate that the Labour party is committed to the NHS and dedicated to free and good quality healthcare for all.

Visit www.labour.org.uk/welovethenhs and www.twitter.com/welovethenhs

To find out about more about NHS delivery in the local area, follow this link

Users of local hospitals will benefit from free parking as the government is abolishing charges for inpatients and their visitors.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham announced that patients will be given a free parking permit for the duration of their stay in hospital to pass on to visiting friends and families, for whom parking costs can currently rack up.

The phasing out of the charges will take place over three years, and could save patients and their families up to £2 million a year. It will be paid for by year-on-year savings in back office NHS costs.

Local hospitals have benefitted from investment under Labour – King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill has a brand new 750-room Golden Jubilee Wing which cost £60 million.

St George’s Hospital in Tooting opened its award-winning new Atkinson Morley Wing in 2003 after government capital investment of £50 million.

Chuka said: “The last thing patients in hospital and their loved ones should have to worry about is paying for a parking ticket.”

“Friends and family should be able to visit patients in hospital without repeatedly paying parking fees to do so.”

Users of local hospitals including St George’s and King’s College Hospital are to benefit from free parking after the government said that it would abolish charges for inpatients and their visitors.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham has just announced that patients will be given a free parking permit for the duration of their stay in hospital to pass on to visiting friends and families, for whom parking costs can currently rack up.

It currently costs up to £2.50 per hour to park at King’s College Hospital during peak times an £2 per hour at St George’s Hospital.

The phasing out of the charges will take place over three years, and could save patients and their families up to £2 million a year. It will be funded by year-on-year savings in back office NHS costs.

King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill has benefited from government investment, with the brand new 750-room Golden Jubilee Wing, costing £60 million, being opened in 2003. St George’s Hospital in Tooting opened its award-winning new Atkinson Morley Wing in the same year after government capital investment of £50 million.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham commented:

“The last thing patients in hospital and their loved ones should have to worry about is paying for a parking ticket.

“Friends and family should be able to visit patients in hospital without repeatedly paying parking fees to do so.”

UCATT is the UK’s only trade union specialising in construction and its national headquarters are based in Clapham, in the Streatham constituency. UCATT is campaigning on behalf of workers who have suffered from exposure to asbestos. Two years ago, the House of Lords ruled that pleural plaques – scarring of the lungs as a result of prolonged asbestos exposure – does not constitute a compensatable medical condition.

There are many cases of former construction workers who suffer from pleural plaques (watch the video above). As a result of the House of Lords’ decision those workers are unable to make a claim for compensation, only being able to do so if complications that result from pleural plaques such as mesothelioma develop, by which time treatment may come too late. Even in such cases, winning compensation is made more difficult by the fact that many of the construction companies involved have gone into liquidation, and finding the relevant insurer takes considerable time.

UCATT is campaigning to stop this injustice, and has launched a postcard calling on the Secretary of State for Justice to allow sufferers to claim compenstion. Please support the campaign by downloading and sending a campaign postcard (postage free) or signing the online petition.

Below is a video about the People’s Supermarket, that is being established in Lambeth, which I am a strong supporter of.  It will offer a new way of shopping that aims to change the way we buy food. In short, it is a supermarket that is run by the people, for the people, selling the best food at the lowest possible prices.

I think the People’s Supermarket is a good antidote to the dominance of the increasingly dominant big supermarket chains. From a political view point, if we are to break the grip of big business and the market over our lives, we need to explore different forms of ownership and organisations like this – the People’s Supermarket is a great model. For more information, watch the my video interview below and visit: www.peoplessupermarket.org.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, welcomes NHS measures coming into force this month which will provide free services to local people.

The Health Secretary, Alan Johnson MP, has announced a series of measures which will transform the service the NHS provides, all coming into force this month:

• free health checks for local people aged 40-74;
• MRSA screening for all patients; and,
• free prescription charges for local cancer sufferers.

Health checks will become free for everyone between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of an ambitious national programme to identify people’s risk to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes. The checks will play an important role in preventative care, having the potential to stop 1,600 heart attacks and strokes and save up to 650 lives each year. Additionally, they allow diabetes to be detected earlier in patients, which can prevent sufferers from developing Type 2 diabetes. The health checks also provide personalised advice on how to lower health risks and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Hospitals will now offer MRSA screening for all patients, reducing the chances of receiving the infection or the bug spreading within hospitals. This will be an additional tool in the fight against superbugs. MRSA rates in our hospitals are already falling; Compared to four years ago, the number of infections has more than halved, while locally King’s College Hospital has seen a 64% reduction.

Thirdly, cancer sufferers will no longer pay prescription charges for their medication. For those living with cancer, who often pay upwards of £100 a year, this crucially means one less worry at such a difficult time. The move will benefit over 1,900 people diagnosed with cancer in Lambeth and up to 150,000 nationally.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, welcomed the changes:

“This illustrates Labour’s commitment to delivering a world-class health service in our area. Preventative care is crucial in making us a healthier society and reducing health inequalities. These are improvements which we can all be proud of.”

The announcements follow the news that Lambeth PCT has been ranked among the very best in the country by the Healthcare Commission, and that waiting times are at their shortest both locally and nationally since records began.

Details of a series of measures coming into force this year, which will transform the service the NHS provides have been announced by Health Secretary Alan Johnson (pictured above with Chuka and Keith Hill, MP for Streatham).

As part of an ambitious national programme of preventative care, health checks will become free for everyone between the ages of 40 and 74. The assessments identify people’s risk to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes, and have the potential to stop 1,600 heart attacks and strokes and save up to 650 lives each year. Diabetes will be detected earlier in patients, which can prevent sufferers from developing Type 2 diabetes. The health checks will also enable people to receive personalised advice on how to lower risks and stay healthy.

The government has also announced a new tool in the fight against MRSA, as hospitals will now offer screening for the infection for all patients. This will reduce the risks to patients and the likelihood of infections spreading within hospitals. MRSA rates are already falling nationally, while King’s College Hospital has seen a 64% reduction in infections over the past four years.

Also coming into force are free prescription charges for cancer sufferers. For those living with cancer, who often pay upwards of £100 a year for medication, this means one less worry at such a difficult time. The move will benefit over 1,900 people diagnosed with cancer in Lambeth and up to 150,000 nationally.

These important changes illustrate Labour’s commitment to delivering a world-class health service in our area. Emphasising preventative care is crucial in making us a more healthy society and in reducing health inequality. Following the news that Lambeth PCT has been ranked among the very best in the country by the healthcare commission, and that waiting times are at their shortest both locally and nationally since records began, these are improvements which we can all be proud of.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Streatham, congratulates NHS staff in Lambeth on the latest waiting list figures.

The NHS now has the shortest waits since its records began, Labour Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced on Thursday (26 March 2009).

New data shows that in Lambeth and across England the NHS has met its target to treat patients within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral by their GP – an achievement which was unimaginable 12 years ago. Commenting on the figures, Umunna (pictured, right, with Johnson) said:

“This is a tremendous achievement by NHS clinicians and staff in Lambeth who should be proud of the difference their hard work has made to the experience of every NHS patient.

“Achieving the shortest waits since NHS records began has made a huge difference to patients’ experiences of the NHS. In the 1990s it was not uncommon for people to wait 18 months or more for their operation – with some people dying on the waiting list.

“The NHS is one of our country’s greatest achievements and I will always stand up for it. I’m proud that over the last 12 years, we have made sure the NHS has the staff it needs and backed them to deliver improvements in standards and driving down waits. Today’s news is further evidence that this investment has worked.”

This latest news also follows the roll out of extended GP opening hours which the government has made a priority. 44 of the 52 GP practices in Lambeth offer extended opening hours including the Exchange Surgery and Streatham High Practice both situated in the new Gracefield Gardens Health Centre in Streatham, one of 152 new GP led health centres opened or opening across the country.

This week, the NHS is celebrating the shortest waits since its records began – something that would have been unimaginable when Labour came to power 12 years ago. Now, for the first time, in every part of the country, nobody has to wait more than 18 weeks for treatment after being referred by their GP, unless they choose to wait longer or there is a good medical reason. Most people wait less than 8 weeks.  Below, Health Secretary Alan Johnson MP, explains the achievement.