We need a fresh start to save our National Health Service

I know from listening to residents of Bicester & Woodstock and my own family's experience as patients that the NHS is in crisis.  The Conservative government has allowed strikes to drag on and has seen waiting lists sky-rocket.  It should not be like this, it does not have to be like this.  As your Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock I will work to ensure that patients are seen faster by GPs, that cancer patients start treatment faster and to restore access to an NHS dentistry service.

The Conservatives have plunged the NHS into crisis

The Conservatives have plunged the NHS in England into crisis. They have run local health services into the ground, putting people, buildings and beds under immense pressure. With 112,000 staff vacancies in England alone, long waiting times, missed targets and poor outcomes, patient safety is being pushed into the danger zone.

High-quality healthcare for all

High-quality healthcare, free at the point of use, is essential for both individual freedom and national prosperity. Good health gives people the freedom to live the lives they choose, and a thriving economy needs a healthy population.  This is Liberal Democrat policy and what I want to deliver.

The care you need, when you need it

Liberal Democrats believe that everyone should get the care they need, when they need it. That’s why we would enshrine the right to see a GP within 7 days in legislation (or 24 hours in urgent cases). That’s why we have pledged to ensure every cancer patient starts treatment within 62 days of diagnosis.

People should not have to resort to expensive private care or DIY dentistry because NHS services are struggling.

People are losing confident in the NHS

People are no longer confident that when they need medical help they can get it. Delays and shortages in frontline care are driving people to 999 and A&E, further overloading the service. When people ring 999 they don’t know if they will get the emergency treatment they need in time. Millions are waiting for treatment, unable to work.

The NHS is ailing and it needs our support.  In 2020 we clapped for it, in 2024 vote for a candidate and party who believe in supporting it.

As your Liberal Democrat MP, I will fight to:

• Give everyone the right to see their GP within seven days, or within 24 hours if they urgently need to. To deliver on that right, we will train, recruit and retain more GPs and free up more of their time.

• Reform NHS dentistry so that no one is forced to pay hundreds of pounds for private care.

• Finally put mental health on the same footing as physical health.

• Invest in public health and prevention so that fewer people get ill and need treatment.

• Recruit, train and retain more doctors and nurses to fill the thousands of vacancies in the NHS and cut waiting times.

• Fix the life-threatening crisis in our ambulance services and provide emergency funding to tackle poor response time