The COVID-19 vaccine means the pandemic is coming under control. But it is far from over and the government has serious work to do now, and in the months and years to come to sort out our health services, writes Harriet Harman…
In lockdown, we all clapped for the NHS, yet nurses are underpaid and overworked. They must increase recruitment by a major programme of grants for those undertaking nurse training. We need them and shouldn’t deter good people by making them pay for their own training. Many experienced nurses are burnt out and considering leaving. Senior nurses are invaluable and we must keep them by better pay, filling vacancies so they are not overworked and proper professional recognition.
Our care services need a complete overhaul. Many end up in residential care because they can’t get the support they need at home. Carer visits of fifteen minutes are a travesty. A good service of carers, well respected and well paid, is needed to help people at home with the basics of getting up and dressed, bathing, cleaning, food shopping and preparation, sorting out medication and providing companionship.
There has, rightly, been a focus on mental health during COVID. Children unable to socialise or go to school, people unable to go to work, families separated, relatives dying, have all taken their toll on mental health.
We are fortunate to have the Maudsley’s outstanding services but the truth is that even before the pandemic there were long waiting times for those of all ages, whether as outpatients or in hospital. There is agreement that mental health services must no longer be the poor relation of health care. Yet that remains the case and it must change.
King’s is a pioneering hospital in so many ways and cares for many people whose health is worsened by low income and poor housing. But the waiting lists for treatment have risen and people have to spend hours in Accident and Emergency before they are seen. There are over 63,000 people on the waiting list for King’s of which nearly a quarter have been waiting longer than the 18 weeks target. The dedicated team at King’s do their best but they need more resources, and certainly not cutbacks. COVID has made this worse but there was a problem even before then.
The NHS needs more funds, but the government are wrong to raise the money by NIC increases which hit the lowest paid, including those working in the NHS and in care homes.
Poor health in Southwark compared to other areas will be worsened by of our lower vaccination rate. High vaccination rates mean fewer people get the virus and if they do, have milder symptoms and fewer long-term effects. Of those adults offered vaccination 82 per cent across the UK have taken the jab. But in Southwark barely more than half have been vaccinated, only 58 per cent, lower even than the London average. We need the Clinical Commissioning Group, which leads on vaccination, to redouble their efforts, with government backing, to ensure we level up the Southwark vaccination rate. Low vaccination rates in our area mean more infection circulating, more people at risk of serious illness and death, more hospital admissions and more long-term illness.
For good health we need not only good health services, with people able to quickly see their GP in person, but also people being able to lead healthy lives. You can’t do that if you’re struggling to make ends meet. So tackling income inequality is vital. But there’s no chance of that with the Conservatives. That will have to wait for a Labour government.