Leigh Ingham

I join my colleagues in welcoming the Budget and all it represents in making a real difference to the healthcare outcomes of my constituents in Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages. In a way, campaigning on rebuilding the NHS during the election was easy. I did not have to explain to my constituents that our health service is broken. The NHS is not something that happens off in the distance: it is a GP on the end of a phone, or the ambulance service that comes running the second 999 is called, or the kind nurse who sits with a grandparent in their hospital bed. It is the real beating heart of this country. My constituents feel the impact of the NHS every day of their lives, except now for many the phone call to the GP at 8 am takes 40 minutes, the ambulance arrives after several hours, with luck, and there are no beds available in hospitals. We see the impact of the last 14 years on our health service and the shameful legacy left by the Conservatives. The Budget is the first step in delivering the change my constituents voted for. It represents a new chapter, a commitment to put health and community first and the beginning of rebuilding what has been lost. I know that the Minister for Care has recently stated that the Government are determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into our communities. I wholeheartedly support that goal, especially when it comes to palliative and end of life care, which local hospices in Stafford faithfully provide. I recently met staff at Katharine House hospice in my constituency to discuss the importance of palliative care. I was very moved to see the care and empathy with which they provide services in our community. The Budget is a reset for the NHS, allowing us to focus on preventing ill health in the first place and moving healthcare from hospital to community as we build an NHS fit for the future. I welcome it, as do my constituents.