Member

Over the past 14 years, a two-tier healthcare system emerged in this country. People who can afford it are increasingly going private to skip the queue, while those who cannot are left behind. Working people are going into debt, and others are running fundraisers to pay to get an operation. Those stories belong in pre-war Britain. They should shame the Conservative Party. I am determined to end two-tier healthcare in this country, so that whether you are the richest or poorest person in Britain, you get timely, quality treatment, free at the point of use. This new agreement will see more NHS patients able to choose to be treated in a private hospital where there is capacity, paid for by the state. More capacity will be available for people in working-class areas of the country, and for women stuck on gynaecology waiting lists. Where we can treat working people faster, we will, and we make no apology for doing so.