King's Speech: Will Forster says health and care must be a priority of next parliament

Today, Will Forster MP is set to back Liberal Democrat amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the Government to address the health and care crisis.  

This includes calls for a legal right to see a GP within seven days and a guarantee for cancer patients to start treatment within 62 days.  

This comes after shocking data reveals number of patients not seen within 62-days at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals is 306.  Nationally, data from the Office for National Statistics has found that 7% of those who tried to make contact with a GP practice didn’t manage to, meaning an equivalent to 1.84 million people are unable to have any contact with a GP. 

Almost one in five (18%) people who tried to contact their GP said it took two days or more to either book an appointment or receive a response from a clinician.  This is equivalent to another whopping 4.7 million people waiting two days or more to hear back after contacting their GP. 

The Lib Dem amendment to the Kings Speech will also be focusing on social care, calling for free personal care in England and a cross-party commission to put the sector on a sustainable financial footing. 

Commenting on the amendment, Woking’s new MP, Will Forster said:  

“After years of Conservative chaos, we have seen the NHS run into the ground, leaving millions waiting months or even years for vital treatment, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from getting back into work.” 

“It’s clear that if we can fix the NHS and care, we can start to rebuild the mess that the Conservatives have made of our economy.” 

 “In the election, the Lib Dems put health and social care at the heart of our manifesto.  We will continue to push for our policies that millions of people voted for, to tackle the ongoing health and social care crisis, and kickstart the economy.”