ITV News' Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry breaks down the challenges our next Prime Minister will come up against after the General Election - and what solutions political parties have put forward.is a devolved issue in the four nations of the UK. We’re focusing on England because Westminster has responsibility for the NHS there.
Millions of people are waiting for non-urgent operations, things like knee replacements and cataract surgery.So what are the parties promising to do about it?While the backlog has fallen by 200,000 since September, the waiting list remains higher now than when the Prime Minister first made that pledge.has promised to clear it within five years, with more evening and weekend appointments and using the private sector - paid for by a crack-down on tax avoiders.
delivered on their 2019 manifesto pledge to hire 50-thousand more nurses. But unions say that’s still not enough to meet demand. Labour has promised to create 7,500 more medical school places and 10,000 more nursing and midwifery clinical placements a year.say to retain workers they’d cut taxes for frontline NHS staff and write-off student fees for trainee doctors and nurses.NHS data shows that in April 2024 more than three million people in England had to wait over three weeks to see their GP.
Labour promises to end the 8am scramble for appointments by using the NHS App. And say they’ll deliver 700,000 extra dentistry appointments a year.say they would ensure everyone can see an NHS doctor or dentist by raising money through a “fairer” tax system.Junior doctors are due to walk-out just days before the election and now even GPs now threatening to take action.