Tackling the challenges facing the NHS is one of my highest priorities as your MP. You may be aware that earlier this year the government announced an ambitious NHS 10 Year Plan, which will modernise and transform healthcare across England over the next decade.
The plan is backed by £22bn in extra government investment for frontline NHS services and £3bn for new equipment and buildings – the biggest increase in NHS funding since Labour was last in government, outside of the pandemic. That funding includes £900 million to end the 8am GP appointment scramble and provide 700,000 more emergency dentist appointments. Prescription charges also remain frozen for the second year, saving patients £18 million this year.
As a result of the action the government is taking, we are already seeing progress locally and across the country:
- Since the election, waiting lists have fallen by more than 374,000 across the country and we’ve seen a 5% improvement in waiting times at George Eliot Hospital.
- George Eliot hospital has also eliminated corridor care, ensuring every patient can be seen with dignity.
- A&E performance is the best it has been for five years, with 80% of patients seen within 4 hours and 500,000 more people seen on time last year. In just the past year, the number of patients being seen at A&E within 4 hours at George Eliot hospital has improved from 66% to 91%.
- Public dissatisfaction with the NHS has seen the biggest drop since 1998, while patient satisfaction has risen for the first time since the pandemic.
- Ambulance response times have fallen by 5 minutes on average to the lowest level in five years.
- NHS England carried out a record 29 million diagnostic tests in 2025, with 3.5 million additional tests carried out in the first 18 months of this government compared to the 18 months prior to July 2024.
- More than 2,500 new GPs have been recruited, and three local GP surgeries in Polesworth, Bedworth, and Keresley are getting upgrades this year so they can receive even more patients and improve access.
I know there is still a mountain to climb before we get our NHS fighting fit again, but I am heartened by the progress being made. I regularly speak to GP surgeries and to the George Eliot hospital, so do let me know if you have issues you want me to raise. Rest assured, as your MP, I will continue to push for the strongest possible action to restore our health service.