Local Labour candidate Carol Mochan has set out her party’s recovery plan for health as NHS Ayrshire and Arran admit to a £31.5 million deficit for 2021/22.
Carol said,
‘NHS staff here in Ayrshire and Arran have worked non stop to keep us safe and protected from Covid but the past year has not come without a cost. Waiting times have soared, there are missing cancer patients, a growing mental health crisis, and an exhausted workforce. And now NHS Ayrshire and Arran have admitted a funding deficit of £31.5 million in 2021/22. The NHS board are planning £9.3million of cuts immediately but will still be heading into the 2021/22 with a £21million deficit.
Labour has a recovery plan for the NHS. We need to get cancer treatment back on track to clear the backlog of appointments within a year.
Second on the list is improving mental health care with much better access including dedicated assessments for every school pupil. We want to see mental health support workers in every GP clinic.
Our proposals also include the creation of a national care service, "a real pay rise" for NHS staff and an increase in social carers’ pay to £15 an hour, with an immediate rise to £12.
This election should be about restoring the NHS. It should be about solutions for the future, a recovery plan to unite the country, not the arguments of the past and not an obsession with what divides us.’
ends
Carol said,
‘NHS staff here in Ayrshire and Arran have worked non stop to keep us safe and protected from Covid but the past year has not come without a cost. Waiting times have soared, there are missing cancer patients, a growing mental health crisis, and an exhausted workforce. And now NHS Ayrshire and Arran have admitted a funding deficit of £31.5 million in 2021/22. The NHS board are planning £9.3million of cuts immediately but will still be heading into the 2021/22 with a £21million deficit.
Labour has a recovery plan for the NHS. We need to get cancer treatment back on track to clear the backlog of appointments within a year.
Second on the list is improving mental health care with much better access including dedicated assessments for every school pupil. We want to see mental health support workers in every GP clinic.
Our proposals also include the creation of a national care service, "a real pay rise" for NHS staff and an increase in social carers’ pay to £15 an hour, with an immediate rise to £12.
This election should be about restoring the NHS. It should be about solutions for the future, a recovery plan to unite the country, not the arguments of the past and not an obsession with what divides us.’
ends
