Thank you for your recent email as part of the campaign ‘I
want a publicly owned NHS, do you?’
I want an NHS that delivers for its patients and staff and
one that provides good value for money for the taxpayer.
Because of this I was pleased that in June, the Prime
Minister announced an extra £20 billion a year in real terms for the National
Health Service by 2023/24, ensuring patients receive world-class care, as part
of our long-term plan for the NHS.
This funding in their 70th birthday year is part of a five-year
budget settlement for the NHS.
Crucially, the extra funding will come in part from the
‘Brexit dividend’ – money we will no longer send to the European Union after we
have left – and the country will be asked to contribute a bit more for the NHS in
a fair and balanced way.
The Government has increased the NHS budget every year we
have been in power. This further historic long term funding boost will secure
the future of this vital service for generations to come, meaning patients will
benefit from improved cancer survival rates, there will be better mental health
care, and more doctors and nurses in our hospitals.
In return, the NHS will produce a new, clinically led,
long-term plan – setting out how the money will be used to deliver our vision
for the health service and to ensure every penny is well spent.
Of course, in recent years we have already seen increased
general funding for the NHS in Cornwall, with a year on year increase since the
Government came into power.
We have also recently seen work start on the construction of
the long-needed mental health inpatient facility for young people in Cornwall,
another £4m investment to Cornwall from the Government.
With my Cornish MP colleagues I lobbied the Government for
additional funding for Adult Social Care and was very pleased to see
announcement of the Improved Better Care Fund in March 2017.
The Government granted Cornwall Council an additional £24m
over the next three years for adult social care to go towards improving social
care in Cornwall.
Furthermore, Royal Cornwall Hospital is one of 74 sites from
around the country that has been offered £30m as part of the ‘Core 24’ standard
for mental health liaison, meaning a fully-staffed team will be operating 24/7
in the hospital, offering a one-hour response to emergency mental health
referrals in A&E.
So this is great news for the NHS nationally and locally. I
will now be working with the other Cornish MPs and NHS services in Cornwall to
ensure that we get the right amount of funds for our county.
I hope this outlines my position on this matter and thanks
once more for getting in touch.
