My letter to the Whitehaven News, 13/05/2024
Hundreds of you have told me how hard it is to see a GP in my GP access survey. So I took the opportunity to spend a morning alongside staff working in Fellview Healthcare GP practices in Egremont and Cleator Moor to find out from the front line of our NHS what it is we need to do differently.
What I found is that staff are slogging their guts out and good will is propping up the NHS.
Fellview have 28,000 patients but because of the recruitment and retention crisis they only have 7 GPs instead of the 14 we need. I spoke to a GP who is working 15 hour days and sees over ONE HUNDRED patients in a day.
Despite this, the staff keep turning up and doing their best. But it is a sign that our NHS is at breaking point.
Everyone knows that there are no quick fixes, but front line staff told me that three things that are needed:
1) We need a LOT more doctors. That’s why Labour will double medical school places. I want to see more doctors trained here, working here.
2) We need to improve technology and bust bureaucracy – highly trained staff are spending hours battling with out of date systems.
3) We need a preventative health service. For example, if we can spot early signs of heart conditions and diabetes and help manage them then the NHS can improve life expectancy, narrow health inequalities and reduce hospital costs.
I know that many of you are angry and worried about our NHS – the best way to show it is at the ballot box when the election comes. Labour has a plan to rescue our NHS. If I’m fortunate enough to be elected as your MP, I’ll proudly back it and work to deliver it.
Josh MacAlister
Standing to be your Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington
Josh MacAlister MP 