Your NHS, health and care services

Nothing can be more important than our health. Knowing that the NHS is there when we need it. It is the one thing that we rely on, but like never before, our GPs, community services, social care and hospitals are under unprecedented pressure.

Patients are waiting for assessments and treatment, while there are not enough care staff to safely discharge patients home from hospital. Across the country there are 300,000 unfilled posts in health and social care and with the cost of living, cost of housing and cost of energy, many can no longer afford to work in health and care. In York, recruitment and retention is a major issue.

I want you to keep safe and keep well and am representing your concerns and advocating for solutions to get us through this difficult time. I want York to rebuild a functioning health and care service for the future which puts you at the centre.

Despite the amazing dedication of our health and care staff, getting the services you need is a challenge, whether for an illness, your physical health or mental health. More than 7 million patients are waiting for hospital appointments, including surgery. In York, 6,900 patients are on the inpatient waiting list. For those with cancer, 70.9% of patients are seeing a specialist within 2 weeks (national target is 93%). Ambulance waits are also delayed. This is a very anxious time, and we need the NHS to get back on track to see you when you have need.

I have recently visited the Emergency Department and seen the ambulances queuing at the door and the trolleys waiting in corridors. Whether it is A&E, maternity services or people who have had a stroke or heart attack, no matter the cause of the illness, we need the staffing and services to be able to respond to meet your needs.

Mental health needs significant investment too. From pressures caused by the Cost of Living Crisis, those bearing down on our young people, to those who have a mental health challenge or dementia, I particularly recognise the need to ensure that you have the right support available. This is important to keep people safe and well. While there are a range of services available, much needs to be done to improve things moving forwards to address serious ill health and improve our wellbeing.

This booklet also highlights my campaign on the lack of dentists in York and calls for better services for you.

There are things we can all do to help. Keeping ourselves physically and mentally well, preventing the spread of infection and accessing services in the right way. Poverty, poor housing, isolation, anxiety and a poor quality of life has a major impact on our health. These are issues that we can solve in York with better local support.

We need a reset of health and care in York. I am working hard in Parliament and across York to ensure that everything that can be done is being done and working with professionals to rebuild services that work for you.